Eyes of a jewel
by chloemcg
Summary: Saphira, the daughter of Lloyd and Colette, is born with a strange mark on the back of her hand. On her 14th birthday she gets kidnapped by a group of Desians who want to use the Chosen's daughter for their own purposes. Can Lloyd, Colette and some old friends rescue the girl? Or will they discover some disturbing origins behind Saphira's birthmark?
1. The birth of a legend

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

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Lloyd Irving paced anxiously, swallowing what felt like a grapefruit-sized lump in his throat.

He had no idea how long he was doing it and he was sure that he was creating a rut in the floor as he did but that didn't matter in the least to him. He was far more concerned about his wife, Colette Br, as she was going through hell and back. He felt like his heart was ready to burst, his mind was racing and he couldn't help but finely polish his exsphere whilst he was growing steadily nervous as each and every second passed.

About a year or so had passed since the adventure with Emil and Marta. After declaring his love for the Chosen of regeneration, Colette Brunel, Lloyd had decided to marry her and here they were a few years later.

It was very hard to believe that their whole adventure began only five years ago.

Lloyd stopped pacing upon hearing some loud, blood-curdling screams coming from the door he was just passing. The sword master's anxiety grew tenfold when he heard his wife's shrieks of agony from inside the room he feared so much.

He felt an almost uncontrollable urge to rush over and break down the door so he could be with his wife, however the only people who were keeping his rampaging emotions at bay was his best friend, Genis, his school teacher (and Genis' sister), Raine Sage, and there was even Noishe who popped his head through the window to try and calm his master down.

The dog-like creature's abnormally big ears swivelled in the nervous wreck of a man's direction.

Sensing his best friend's worry, Genis closed his eyes calmly and said "Come on, Lloyd, do try to calm down!"

Lloyd stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his friend as if he had grown another head. How could he calm down at a time like this!? He was about to go through one of the biggest changes a man should ever have to go through. How could he be calm!?

All this basically was was a little trip towards the House of Salvation before Colette had started to start going into...he swallowed, not wanting to finish that thought. Thankfully they were in the church now so the maids and nuns were looking after Colette in her fragile state. The fact that he was in a church really didn't make him feel any better, though.

He opened his mouth to argue when he was cut off by a shrill cry of agony, albeit it was muffled due to the door acting as a barricade.

Its volume may have been stifled by the door, but that didn't stop Lloyd from jumping as he whirled on his feet to face the door.

"C-Colette!" He yelled, rushing towards the door as he lost all control of himself.

Thankfully Raine had the sharp reflexes to yank her former student backwards and away from the door that was driving him over the edge of insanity. The teacher managed to calm the frantic man down by giving him a hard whack across the back of his head, instantly halting him as he froze in place.

Wide-eyed, Lloyd reached up to rub tenderly at the back of his head and he shot a filthy glare at Raine who gave him a glare right back that dared him to say a word lest he wished for another hard smack.

Pursing his lips shut to avoid more physical abuse, Lloyd gave an impatient groan as he frustratedly sunk down on the seats next to the two whom had came to give him support. He tossed his head into his hands, hiding his face in his fingers as he shuddered fearfully. He couldn't lose his wife, he just couldn't!

He couldn't bear the thought of losing Colette over something like this, he didn't want to lose his soulmate!

It was then that he felt a kindly hand place itself on his back and he reacted by lifting his head up just a few fractions so he could see the owner of said hand.

He saw Genis smiling gently at his friend as he stroked his back to reassure him "Lloyd, Colette is the chosen! She'll be perfectly fine..."

Lloyd smiled sincerely at Genis. He could always rely on the teen, that much was true. He can't believe how everything had changed over these past few years, in fact as he thought about it, it was pretty darn creepy to think about. It all started with a journey for the world regeneration process and now here they were, many years later. He couldn't believe how much the world had changed since then.

He was married to the most selfless and beautiful girl in the world, he was given the occupation of protecting Colette whenever they had to go on special trips. They were even welcomed back in Iselia with open arms...although they were very weary around Lloyd at first as he had accidentally caused an attack on the village, thus getting him exiled for a spell, before he became a hero.

But evil continued to lurk in the shadows to try and disrupt the age of piece.

Lloyd was mercilessly ripped from his nostalgia-filled-flashbacks when he heard the loud shrill screams of Colette. His heart had basically dropped right down into his stomach and jump back up to his throat when he felt terror give his blood an icy cold chill.

The shrill screams were much louder than before and it made the man in red jump a second time as he basically shot up from his chair and this time, nobody was quick enough to stop him from slamming his body against the door frantically.

Each slam of the door trying to break it down was rewarded with pain and a small grunt of discomfort but he just knew he had to get in there.

He didn't care for himself, he had to make sure that Colette was alright!

As Colette's screams got louder and louder, Lloyd's slamming got increasingly more intense as he tried his best to break the pine door down.

Finally, after knocking the door down, Lloyd basically bolted into the room and what he saw made him freeze in the doorway with his mouth agape and his eyes wide in their sockets. He couldn't control his heart rate any longer as he stared at the scene in front of him.

All was quiet now...except for the noise he had been waiting to hear.

Soft little wails filled the room as he entered and he could feel his mind bursting with several thoughts.

Colette lain in bed, her long blonde hair frizzy and her face damp from the whole ordeal. She wore a gown as she held a pink bundle in her arms. It was about the size of a loaf of bread and she cradled the thing from side to side as she murmured endearments to it. She had a soft wistful look inside her eyes as she breathlessly spoke to the tiny parcel she held on to.

Lloyd gulped. So the moment had finally arrived...he was a father. He felt his eyes grow misty as he ran a sweaty hand through his messy locks of brown hair that was sticking out on all angles much more than usual.

He knew that Colette must have heard him enter (if not for the door crashing down) as she turned her head towards the guardian in red and smiled weakly at him.

"Hello there, Lloyd..." She breathlessly spoke in a hushed whisper "...why don't you come in, take a look at our baby?"

Lloyd felt his whole upper body freeze. She was seriously inviting him over towards them, to see his newborn child? He couldn't help but nod subconsciously as a small smile had managed to come across his lips as he took a slow shaky step towards the bed.

As he advanced towards the bed, Lloyd was met by the midwife (or one of the church maids who acted as a midwife from time-to-time) whom smiled giddily as she carried a wooden pail of water as well as a few used towels that were damp already. Her pinched up face was all chubby and she seemed to have her eyes permanently fixed closed despite clearly being able to see everything around her.

The woman leaned in to whisper in Lloyd's ear "It is a girl, a beautiful baby girl..."

The man felt his heart stop once more. A girl? He had a daughter? How was he supposed to respond to this news? He didn't know how he could, honestly, but he inhaled heavily as he put a hand to his chest and tried to make his heart work again, only when it did it went into overdrive. He now felt like he was going to faint!

He forced his legs to move even though he could feel his knees caving in and his hands shaking. He cautiously approached the bed and slowly got down on his knee as he sat by Colette's bedside. He leaned forwards and watched as Colette slowly pulled away a fold of blanket so the newborn's pinkish face could be revealed.

There, wrapped in a flannel blanket, was his flesh and blood.

Lloyd was wordless as he stared at his daughter's face for the first time.

The child had a very chubby face and she had a lot of her mother in her, including the inkling that her eyes were as blue as the daylight cloudless skies or even a rapid running waterfall glimmering in pure sunlight -just like her mother's eyes. Only difference really was that her hair was a soft silky brown colouration. It was a tad exaggerated around the hair line as quite a few strands of her hair were sticking out at odd angles. She clearly got the hair from her father.

"W-Woah...s-s-she's so beautiful..." Lloyd smiled, tears finally running down his cheeks as he allowed the baby girl to clutch his finger in her tiny fist. It didn't hurt but Lloyd was stupefied as to how something so small and frail could be so strong. That just made him all the more proud.

Colette nodded in agreement, her eyes twinkling with tears as she smiled down at the infant.

She bent down and gave the child a kiss on the forehead, causing the newborn to let out a loud squeak of annoyance as she wriggled around in an unsettled manner inside her mother's embrace.

Lloyd simply smirked at this, furrowing his brows at his daughter.

He couldn't believe that despite being mere minutes old, that she was already showing that she strongly disliked kisses or any kind of affection.

The man with messy brown hair could only chuckle softly as he gently wrestled his finger out of the grip of his daughter and started to delicately brush it against the infant's cheek. She cooed and gurgled nonchalantly, obviously liking this much better then kisses from her mother.

The two parents fawned over their newborn child and reluctantly allowed Genis and Raine to enter the room so they could see the new life whence the lord priest and some sisters of the local church had so rudely interrupted them and asked if they should let the visitors in.

The two half-elf geniuses both basically went gaga over the little girl as they both made clever observations about who she would take over more. Eventually that transformed into a bet which both were determined to win.

"I bet you she will grow up to be like Lloyd!" Genis proclaimed quietly, holding his finger upwards with pride and authority.

Raine smirked, tutting as she winked at her Half-elf baby brother "Well, I bet that she will be like her mother!"

Both the parents raised brows of confusion at each other. These two were supposed to be mature and here they were making stupid bets, should they need to be reminded why they were the most logical of the group?

Neither Lloyd nor Colette knew how to respond to this without offending one (or both) half elf siblings. They simply shrugged in unison whilst they tried to ignore the bickering in the background, the newborn baby wasn't taking it well.

The poor bundle was whinging and whining as her face was starting to screw up and her lower lip was trembling.

They all stopped speaking when the little girl finally opened her mouth and started wailing her little lungs out.

This, of course, startled everybody out of their skins as they looked at the screaming little girl. They didn't know what to do, they couldn't even be able to discern what was the matter...until Colette had noticed something as she frowned down at the crying newborn.

She was so exhausted she didn't notice this little extra feature until now...!

"Hey, what's this?"

This grabbed everyone's attention as they looked closer at what Colette was inquiring about. It turns out that, embedded on the skin of the child's right hand, was a strange magenta mark that started to glow in a fluorescent glow that rivalled even the brightness of the sunlight that crept through the closed curtains of the window.

Everyone backed off from the crying baby as the more she cried, the more her hands glowing intensified to a more blinding glow. It was enough to make a person go completely blind as everyone was almost swallowed up by the intense pink glowing.

Upon looking closely at the mark with squinted eyes, it looked like some kind of symbol which was sort of familiar to the trio.

Whatever the mark was, it's glowing was what seemed to be causing the little one some discomfort.

Colette, adjusting the wriggling infant in her arms, decided to take action. It broke her heart to see her little one in pain and she wasn't going to stand for it, she couldn't just stand by and let whatever was making her angel unhappy hurt her! So, with a very tender hand, she placed a finger against the mark and gently started to rub small circles around it.

Underneath the mark, she could feel some sort of cramping of the muscles under the back of her daughter's tiny hand and Colette started to hum a soft angelic melody as she tried to soothe the child and get her to stop crying.

Lloyd watched in awe as he observed the bond between Colette and their newborn daughter and he remembered the time Colette lost her voice and drew letters on his palm to try and communicate. It seemed similar to this and he couldn't help but watch with a look of disbelief as not only did the child's cries dull into small whimpers and hiccups but the glowing eased off and subsided into almost nothing.

Genis and Raine looked at each other, amazed of what they had just witnessed. Now it was their turns to be stunned into silence!

They tried to find the words to say what they were going to think about this until Raine finally spoke, trying to hide a small excited smirk, about doing some research upon this.

She slowly backed off out the door, grabbing Genis' hand in hers as she made him back off along with her.

The younger half-elf seemed mildly annoyed by this but complied none-the-less as he gave his friends a congratulatory grin as he left with his sister.

"Well, we'll leave you guys alone...but we're going to look into that mark, right?" She looked at Genis who trembled over his sister's gaze. The smaller half elf simply nodded violently as if slightly frightened by Raine but allowed her to drag him along behind her.

Genis informed the two as he and his sister disappeared out the building "By the way, we'll let everyone know that the kid is born and then they can come visit you!"

Lloyd smiled whence he knew his friend was gone. He was proud to call the half-elf his friend, even if he could be a bit of a smart alec at times.

He slowly turned his attention back to the baby, his new daughter, and watched with compassionate eyes as she slept soundly in her mother's arms. He rubbed his nose softly against the child, giving her an Eskimo kiss as he knew that the baby probably wouldn't mind this as signs of affection clearly irritated the tiny being which he considered to be more precious than an angel.

"So, Colette? What are we going to name her?" He asked in a hushed whisper, reaching over and stroking his daughter's head with two of his fingers.

The woman only continued to stroke the child's hand where the mark was and simply smiled with a weakened edge to it. That was a good question, what name could they call their newborn treasure? She thought long and hard for a name and even looked around the room to see if any ideas would come to her...and then her eyes laid on her husband's Exsphere.

That was it! That would inspire the perfect name!

She looked back down softly at the sleeping baby girl and suggested in a breathless tone "...What about Saphira?"

Lloyd smiled. He honestly liked that name, it was actually a very pretty name. It wasn't a very common one either but it wasn't unique, just the way he liked it. He gave a small nod of approval as he petted the tiny infant's head affectionately, his heart growing warm within his chest, and he looked adoringly at Colette before kissing her "I think its a cute name."

Lloyd softly leaned forwards and kissed his wife on the nose, this time provoking no response from the tiny clone of Colette. After parting from her just a tad so his face was inches from hers, he smiled delicately at her with his eyes full of compassion.

Then looked down at his sleeping daughter and then her birth mark "...Welcome, little Saphira..."

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**A/N: Here's the first chapter, I hope you all like it. I wanted to create a sweet moment between Lloyd and Colette as well as little Saphira (btw, her name is pronounced Sa-fear-ah) and let's see what happens next. I'm currently playing the game and I'm enjoying it.**

**-Chloemcg**


	2. When everything changes pt 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

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"Mama! Pwease don't go!"

A tiny voice cried as a little podgy little figure darted straight for her mother, her little arms reaching out towards the tall blonde woman who stood by the front door of the humble Irvin family abode.

The tiny girl ran to her angelic graceful mother, her sky blue pupils brighter than pure sunlight and her frown a tad visible as she threw herself at her mother's leg, wrapping her arms around the appendage normally used for walking.

Colette smiled, giggling at her three-year-old daughter's adorable light-heartedness. She could feel her heart becoming brighter than sunlight and she couldn't help but let a few tears trail down her cheeks as she bent down and picked up the child, holding her inside her arms as she nuzzled her nose against the toddler. She done this instead of kissing her daughter, knowing full well that the little girl disliked them.

Where was she going? Well, she had been called to go to Triet, also known as the 'Flower of the Desert'. She heard that she was wanted for a meeting of great importance being held there and she knew that she absolutely had to go to the meeting.

"I-Is it because of me knocking th' vase over earlier? I-If it is, I won't d-do it again!" Saphira looked up at Collete with her eyes filled with huge tears. She grabbed hold of the hem of her dress, pulling weakly upon it as if she knew doing so wouldn't change a whole lot.

Colette could hear the desperation behind her daughter's tone as she held the child close to her. She noticed that her baby's mark was glowing quite brightly, this causing the little girl to grimace from the discomfort. She sighed easily and started rubbing her finger along the mark to trace it.

Ever since the girl was born, she had been experiencing multiple amounts of pain from that symbol she was born with etched on the skin of her hand and each time the mark would glow, it would hurt quite a bit. She and Lloyd noticed that these episodes seemed to occur whenever she was feeling scared or sad.

The thing was, after Genis and his sister had done some research on the object, it seemed that the mysterious birth mark strongly resembled the shape of the Mana symbol. Of course, neither half elves could figure out much more other than that.

Squeezing her daughter tight whilst being careful not to hurt her, Colette murmured "No, sweetheart, I love you very much! Mama's just going on a little trip. I'm sorry..."

Lloyd carefully stepped forwards and held his arms out to take little Saphira from her mother's embrace which Colette reluctantly handed their daughter over. Lloyd held the girl in his arms and asked with his tone heavy with concern "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I could always leave da-I mean Kratos to look after Saphira."

Colette only shook her head in refusal "I'm sure, Lloyd. Besides..." She leaned forwards and gave Lloyd a small kiss on the lips before breaking quickly apart and lidding her eyes seductively "...I think you could benefit from taking care of her."

Lloyd only smiled, still stunned by the kiss, and he nodded in agreement as a blush started to become visible on his cheeks "Uhhhh...I...er...sure...".

He could almost swear that his pupils were forming little hearts as he thought about kissing her for an eternity whenever she got back from her meeting. He adored her tiny little girl and would basically do anything for both his wife and Saphira...but he rarely looked after her on his own due to missions away and stuff.

He was a bit nervous but if Colette believed in him then he had no need to worry.

"Goodbye, doofus." Lloyd kissed his wife goodbye as he regained a bit of his composure to which Colette responded by kissing him back, making their daughter squeal with disgust.

"Ewwww!"

The two parents ignored their child's whining as they stared dreamily into each other's eyes. Lloyd held their daughter while Colette started to make a reluctant back off from her house as she wandered over towards the wagon she would be riding off on.

"Goodbye, Lloyd! Take care of everything..."

Lloyd nodded. He was certain that he could take care of everything for a few days, it wasn't like he was a wimp who just sat around all day...more or less. But he was so entranced by his wife that he hardly noticed it when Colette had began to make her journey down the path leading into the field.

Lloyd could see the gentle setting sun glowing against her already angelic frame, catching her figure just right as she rode a small wagon that was being pulled by some cattle. Colette looked so enchanting to the man, it was a miracle he had finally had her and got married to her. He adored Colette and nothing could ever change that.

But he was then greeted with a small tug on his hair, instantly snapping him out of his thoughts as he looked down at the girl snuggled in his arms.

Saphira giggled brightly as she looked up at Lloyd, her arms waving about without much aim and her eyes were so cheery despite seeing her mother just leave. Saphira finally got a good aim as she held her focus on her father.

Lloyd arched a confused eyebrow at the little one. Wasn't she sad just a minute ago? What could have had such a quick effect as if to cheer her up?

The tiny girl smiled, answering her father's question without even hesitating "Mama is super stwung! She'll be fine!"

Lloyd smiled at his three-year-old's optimism and the adorable mispronunciation of words as he chucked with such warmth that matched to one of an open fire at a winter festival. He started making sure he held the girl in his arms and he could swear that he was starting to feel his brows knitting together as he let a gentle grin embrace his lips.

"Aw," He whined dramatically, feigning hurt "what about Papa? Isn't he strong too? You have to admit that he's cool, right?" He flexed his muscles, showing off.

Saphira let out a giggle as she found her father's humour very amusing for her. Even though Lloyd's little act didn't fool her in the slightest as she cupped her hands against her mouth to stifle some giggles. She looked at the man with big innocent eyes that twinkled in the sunlight.

"Cool and stwung!" She exclaimed in agreement.

Upon hearing this, Lloyd pulled his daughter in front of his own face for a nose-to-nose nuzzling session as he smiled warmly. He brushed his nose against the girl's and he allowed himself to smile even wider as his eyes closed and he allowed himself to be lost in the moment of having some affection between him and his little girl.

He could hear Saphira make a sound of agreement as she enjoyed this sort of display of affection...just not kisses or hugs, she didn't think those were cool.

Lloyd parted his nose from his daughter's well-rounded face and held her gently, distancing her as he held her under the arms. The girl giggled with delight, squealing as her father spun around with her held in his arms.

The man couldn't help but feel blissfully happy as his eyes were jovial and cheery. There were two things that made his battle-hardened heart melt like butter in a boiling hot oven. One was the smile of his beautiful wife, Colette, and this was something that made his heart expand without effort. The other thing was hearing his little girl so happy and giggly. It was a sound that made him proud to be this child's father.

The man stopped spinning, growing dizzy. After shaking away the initial dizziness and making sure his child was alright (which she was, as well as very delighted), he softly sat her on his shoulders, letting her ease comfortably down into her sitting position behind her father's back. Lloyd grabbed hold of each Saphira's legs as he gave her a piggy-back-ride walking back over towards the house they called home and he whistled a jaunty tune whilst doing this.

Saphira giggled adoringly, but then she spotted something which caught her interest.

She stared at it with a big amount of curiosity and softly patted her father on the shoulder, trying to get his attention as she softly called to him "...Papa?"

Lloyd looked over his shoulder and started facing his daughter to look her in the eye "Yes?"

"What's that?" She pointed to a specific part on her father's wrist. Lloyd followed his daughter's pointing finger down to his wrist and he found that she was directing her attention to his Exsphere.

The master swordsman was confused among other things. Just why was his daughter so interested to know about that thing? He knew that he couldn't leave this question unanswered, despite that he found his Exsphere to be both a blessing and a curse. He didn't wish to discuss the details with his innocent baby girl and he couldn't bear the thought of her having such a curse...but then he remembered that strange mana birth mark on her hand.

Even if he tried to deny it, poor little Saphira was probably suffering with her own little curse.

He exhaled and rubbed at his temples in deep thought.

"Well, I was going to explain it when you were older..."

He entered the house with long, heavy steps as he carried his little girl. He could feel his mind fleeting as he tried to think of a simple explanation, hopefully trying to avoid the possibility of having an awkward discussion with the tiny girl.

Neat, flat floorboards were lining the floors while marble had juxtaposed against them. It looked sort of like a temple in some way, but at the same time it was humble. A wooly carpet was stretched in the middle of the oak wood that had decorated the flooring. In a corner was a table with what looked to be a kitchen. Another corner had a sofa which had a tall lamp shade beside it. In the middle of both corners stood a tall door which looked like it could hold a king-sized bedroom.

The view of the little cottage's interior was nicely tidied and the wooden floors were so clean that you could practically eat off it. The rest of the house was a bit dirty as the table still had remnants of the family's last meal. Otherwise, apart from the stubborn greasy stain on the wall, the house was spotless.

The man walked over towards the table, put his daughter down on a seat, and seated himself opposite to the little girl as he looked right into her beautiful blue eyes that twinkled like Sapphires caught in a ray of sunlight. Despite how enchantingly adorable he found his daughter's eyes, he kept a straight face and asked "Saph, do you know what an Exsphere is?"

Saphira looked thoughtful for several moments, her eyes momentarily cast up into the skies, before she looked back into her father's eyes. She shook her head after thinking about it.

Lloyd sighed. He should have known that Colette wouldn't tell her either, she probably hoped that she would learn what it was when the child was much older. But the swordsman realised quickly that there could be no better explanation to the girl coming out of the mouth of the wielder of the possession in question.

So, thinking up the right words to explain this, the man in red began to speak.

"An Exsphere is a little gem stuck in your hand or neck that makes it so you are much stronger in battles. It can also make you super powerful at times when you need it especially..."

Upon saying this, Lloyd took the opportunity to look down at his blue Exsphere. It was finely polished and he could see his own reflection gleam in it.

"But, without a key crest -the golden thing circling the Exsphere-, it could make you very sick."

Saphira looked at her father in amazement, totally interested. But then she frowned in concern upon hearing that last part. Sick? How could it do such a thing? Even though the questions buzzed around inside her head like a swarm of angry bees, she decided not to question it as she noticed that talking about it seemed to really bother her father.

She studied her own birthmark that might as well have been an Exsphere and examined it. It looked so unique to her but, in all honesty, she hated it. She hated the way it became tender whenever it glowed, thus hurting her, and she hated the fact that the mayor of the town would always give her the evil eye.

Lloyd couldn't help but worry for his wife, though. She had been on solo missions before and she almost always came back unscathed. But Lloyd had a feeling that something was going on. He just couldn't shake it.

"..." She stayed silent for several moments before she stretched her mouth wide open and a loud yawn was dragged out from her lungs. She stretched her arms upwards in a sleepy stretch, her face tight whilst she subconsciously communicated that she was feeling tired.

Lloyd ignored the feeling and let a warm smile grace his lips "Oh, is someone feeling sleepy?" He asked, raising a brow.

The girl shook her head, clearly in denial, and she mumbled a "no" under her breath.

Lloyd wasn't fooled, though. He knew that his daughter just didn't like going to bed and she wouldn't going down easily, she was just stubborn that way.

He smirked evilly when he had thought of just the thing to make his daughter sleepy. From what he was aware of this was the time of day when his girl would take a nap.

He slowly and cautiously pretended to look around as he made his eyes widen in their sockets. A false look of fright was fixed on his face.

"Oh no! Did you hear that?" He asked, shooting a panicked look at Saphira.

The girl, startled, exclaimed whilst quickly looking around "H-Hear what, Papa!?"

Lloyd tried to hide a smile of triumph. She had taken the bait! Now he just had to reel her in with his mighty mental fishing rod and get her on the hook. He sent her a slight wag of her eyebrows as he answered her with a slow voice, trying to create a suspenseful atmosphere "...It sounds...like...the footsteps of..."

The man with the big spiky lot of hair then lunged forwards and quickly started reaching across the table to try and grab his unsuspecting daughter, a playfully sinister look coming across his face "THE TICKLE MONSTER!"

Giving a shriek of surprise and delight, the little brunette quickly leapt down from the chair and sprinted as fast as her little legs could carry her as she giggled aloud out of pure joy. Her shortened silky brown hair bristled a bit in the rushing air as she ran around with her chubby little arms held out straight in front of her as she quickly ran around with the sound of her father's gaining footsteps echoing inside her little ears.

Both Saphira and Lloyd burst into laughter as father chased daughter around the house.

Her little feet drummed against the floorboards as she darted just out of reach of her father who was undeniably faster on his feet with being a swordsman and all, it would be a useful feature to have should he be in a dual with someone.

She giggled as she ducked behind the sofa just as her father was darting around a corner.

She cautiously peered out a corner of the sofa to observe her father's movements.

The girl was on her hands and knees as she crawled to catch an amusing peak of her father unable to find her...but her eyes widened into dinner plates as a tiny gasp left her vocal chords; her father wasn't there!

Her mind was thumping as multiple thoughts collected and multiplied. Where did her father go? Did she make him disappear!?

Liquid started to well up inside her huge eyes as tears started to slide down her cheeks and she moaned painfully as, once again, her birth mark started to glow a bright magenta. She stared at it in a mix of wonder and pain as tears trickled down her little face.

"P-Papa?" Saphira called, her little voice choked "P-p-please come out! I-I'll go t' bed, I pwomise!"

She grimaced, her hand glowing brightly and she gripped hold of the mark tightly and tried to make it stop hurting. Her little face contorted with pain as her eyes watered painfully.

But she let out a squeal of surprise when she was quickly hoisted up high into the air and was sat down on a pair of familiar shoulders.

"Eeeeeek!"

"Gotcha!" A voice called out.

Saphira found herself staring directly into the gentle brown eyes of her father and she smiled, relieved that her father was alright! She sniffled, throwing her little arms around his neck tightly but not strangling him.

"Papa! You're awright!" She cried, the glowing of starting to subside.

Lloyd smiled gently as he stroked his daughter's little hand to try and ease the pain as well as soothe her. He didn't mean to make his daughter cry and become upset, he knew he would have to atone for that later on. But he was deeply worried about how her birthmark would affect her in her development, he was well-aware that people were skeptical of his darling little jewel.

He hoped their pessimistic behaviour would dissipate eventually.

But he was worried of one thing most of all: Saphira's mark actually eventually killing her...

Both him and Colette feared that most. Not knowing of the marks origins had made both parents severely worried that their daughter was cursed for some rhyme or reason, but was totally innocent. They both hated the uncertainty and disliked it greatly when she would become distressed as that would being about a lot of pain...in more ways than one.

"Please don't cry, Saffy," he soothed, rubbing her mark tenderly to try and make the tension slowly wash away whilst he used his special nickname for his darling baby girl "I'm right here..."

Saphira gradually steadied herself as Lloyd held her in his arms, cradling his little angel from side-to-side in his tight embrace. She sniffled and hiccuped before she gave a small yawn, sleepily rubbing at her eyes as she blinked a few times. She snuggled her head against her father's chest, showing some affection towards the swords master.

She was silent for several moments before she asked softly "...Papa, can you whistle that song?"

Lloyd knew which one she was talking about. It was the same one he whistled to a frozen and dazed Colette when they met Altessa. He recalled it like it was only yesterday, both Colette and himself stood in a field as they watched the sun setting on a peach orange skies. The fence was neatly aligned as the grass brushed softly against the wooden stakes sticking out of the ground.

The air was crisp and it was fresh and blessed. Lloyd, all the while, sweetly whistling a soft little melody.

Lloyd smiled a little bit as he recalled the tune and he slowly whistled the melody, his arms wrapped around Saphira and he slowly swayed his body from side to side as he carried his sweet little girl, slowly repositioning her to hug her to his chest as he patted her back.

He held Saphira and carried her in through the master bedroom which the family of three shared, pushing past the door.

He wandered over towards the big deluxe bed and tucked his sleeping child into the covers, softly making sure she was tucked in super tight so she wouldn't fall out as she lain in the direct centre of the bed.

Lloyd felt his heart grew ten times bigger when he saw her shift in her sleep, a little smile on her lips as she breathed steadily with her little hands holding on to one of her beloved father's fathers, her digits tightened around them.

The red clad warrior leaned forwards and decided to quickly kiss her whilst she was sleeping. He craned his neck pressed his lips softly against the little three-year-old's forehead.

Upon doing so, though, little Saphira shifted again in her sleep and subconsciously slapped her hand against his hand whilst sleepily muttering "No kissy..." as if she knew what was going on in the realm of the awakened.

Lloyd just couldn't help but smile as he just continued to hold her hand, trying to lull her back to a deep sleep by quietly whistling that song again. She seemed to sleep soundly after hearing that lullaby flow through her little ears.

However, he could feel the chilled feeling of dread grip tightly at his soul.

As each and every hour passed that feeling spread throughout his heart and made him feel like disaster was brewing, like the peaceful times he and Colette as well as everybody else fought for were coming to a sudden end.

He slowly turned his attention towards the window outside, something catching his his attention out of the corner of his eye.

A swarm of grey-black storm clouds were gathering in the skies while slowly creeping straight towards the house (as well as the whole village) like a plague of darkness. The birds were flying in formations, their wings flapping faster then normal as if they were trying to get away before the storm shook the earth.

His lips tight, he frowned, and his eyes went hard.

Something was going to go wrong...he could basically smell it.

* * *

**A/N: Second chapter, I'm proud of how this is turning out so far! I hope I didn't make it to OOC for the characters. Btw, the tune Lloyd whistles is in the episode where they meet Presea in the anime (sorry if I spelt the name wrong). **

**Oh and FORESHADOWING! Let's see what happens next, shall we? **

**-Chloemcg**


	3. When everything changes pt 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

The thunder crashed, lightning enveloping the entire land below as the skies cried with rain. The rain was heavier then weights and hammered the whole entire village of Iselia, pelting everything in sight as it almost flooded everything.

Even the roads were flooded and if anybody was brave enough to treat against it, it would have at the very least been shin deep...and the current was extremely powerful, it could easily sweep a whole army of twenty away and cause them to drown.

In the meantime, inside of the Irving/Aurion/Brunel household, Lloyd sat on the sofa beside Saphira whom huddled close to him for protection. He held a book on his lap, each hand latched tightly on to each of the binding so the pages sandwiched in between could be easy to read and focus on. The little girl leaned heavily against his left side as her eyes were heavy and droopy, signalling that it was getting close to her bed time.

Despite doing as much as he could to take care of his and Colette's little bundle of joy, that feeling gnawing at his soul didn't go away. It was an oppressing feeling in his chest and his heart was stirring as if it were trying to tell him something which he couldn't quite hear yet.

A soft amber glow coming off of a nearby lamp lit up the room and provided a soothing atmosphere despite the fact that the rain was basically hammering down outside. It also made at least one of the two extremely drowsy as she was falling asleep right beside her father, whom smiled gently at his daughter upon feeling her body warmth next to his.

While he couldn't shake that feeling of dread that was brewing deep inside his gut, he was just happy to be there with his little Saphira...

He let out a long yawn himself as he stretched just a little bit.

Maybe a little sleep would take his mind off of this...

Lloyd started to close his eyes and drift off into a deep sleep. He actually felt content for a bit as he felt his arm lamely pick up and wrap itself around the little child beside him and he could not help but smile in his sleep when he listened to the sounds of her soft and gentle snores. He held her even tighter when thunder boomed from outside.

Despite the storm outside, Lloyd knew that his daughter would be fine. She was brave and courageous and was just like her mother...only with his stubborn attitude.

His world became engulfed in blackness as he finally started to drift off into slumber deep. He kept his arm wrapped around his daughter so he could keep a close vigil on her just to be safe, his heart was warming up as he knew that this precious little girl as well as his wife and the rest of his loved ones had a special place in his heart.

He kept a smile stretched on his lips as he slept, humming in contentment as he rubbed his cheek against Saffy's forehead.

It felt like only a few minutes went by when the swordsman with the spiky brown hair opened his eyes with a snort as he heard some knocks on the door, this eliciting a heavy moan from the man as he scrubbed at his face with his hands in an effort to get some of the sleep out of his eyes.

He groggily climbed to his feet with his mind fuzzy and his actions slightly delayed. He couldn't comprehend much as he had just been awoken but then he started looking down at Saphira who had shifted in her sleep upon feeling the loss of warmth from where he was. She seemed a bit unsettled, just like he was feeling at that moment.

He started to amble out of the room with his eyes still a bit heavy and he was still having trouble getting a good focus on things even though he was becoming steadily more awake as each second passed.

He quickly turned to gaze at the cuckoo-clock hanging on the wall and noticed it read 12:20 AM. It was already passed midnight, it seemed, so this was an extremely odd visit indeed for someone to be knocking at this hour...although when he thought about what such a late-night-visit could mean, it amplified his feeling of dread.

Lloyd walked over towards the door and slowly pulled it open, wincing when a huge gust of wind hit him in the face.

He planted his feet firmly on to the ground by pinning them both to the floorboards that made up this house. His feet were so tightly glued to the ground that the friction from the soles of his shoes made a painful screeching sound that was like listening to nails being scraped along a chalk board. He desperately hoped that it didn't wake up Saphira.

When he got over the powerful winds that almost knocked him off his feet, he looked up to find that Genis was standing at the door with a look of horror on his face. He wore a hood and matching cape to try and shelter himself from the storm as he held a lantern up so he could see through the dark. But the fact that his eyes were wider then saucers actually sent shivers down Lloyd's spine.

"Lloyd! I-Its Colette! She was attacked on her way to Triet!" The young half-elf exclaimed, hoping to be heard over the horrendously loud whistling of the wind. He ducked his head in between his shoulders in a brusque attempt to warm and avoid the whole lot of yelling that was undoubtedly about to come from his best friend.

"WHAT!?"

Genis meekly nodded and continued, pointing his lantern over towards the gates that Colette had exited from just that very morning. He wore an understandable concerned expression as he looked towards the direction the Chosen of regeneration had gone.

"Yeah...she was attacked apparently and her driver had been killed! Who knows where she is now, that's if she's even-" Genis started to say sadly but only for Lloyd to sharply say otherwise as he kept his head down and his lips tight.

Genis watched sympathetically as Lloyd slammed his fist against a wall in frustration.

"No! She's alive...she has to be..." Lloyd said sternly, looking back over to Saphira whom was still sleeping. He felt his stern gaze melt when he saw the little girl fast asleep, blissfully oblivious to what was going on. He felt his battle-hardened heart ache whenever he thought of looking after that girl all alone, without a mother to sing her lullabies or a mother to play with and be by her side to soothe her hurt whenever she has a rough day.

He honestly couldn't and didn't want to think of it.

But then he noticed something as he felt his trousers suddenly become wet. He looked down and noticed that water was starting to come into the house, soaking the floor. Looking again proved something far more disturbing as he squinted his eyes towards the outside world of the village...and he was horrified whenever he came to the startling realisation that the town was actually beginning to flood rapidly!

His heart went into overdrive as he started to panic. Lloyd quickly reached over and snatched his friend by the wrist before pulling him inside the house and slamming the door closed in one fluid movement, the time it took to accomplish this being in a split two seconds.

It was when he and Genis turned that they were greeted by a familiar face.

"AHHHHHHH! KRATOS!?" Genis yelled, almost falling backwards from surprise.

Lloyd just didn't say a word.

He just raised a nonchalant brow at the swordsman with the spiky burgundy-coloured hair that looked almost exactly like Lloyd's. His somewhat gentle yet authoritative eyes locked on to the fellow sword-wielder's as the two shared a glare with each other.

Neither of them said a word until Lloyd decided to speak first, his tone slightly casual but most of it serious "..What are you doing here?"

Kratos smiled and turned his back on the younger man, a content smirk on his faces as he closed his eyes whilst he pressed a finger against the side of his head for emphasis "I sensed that you were in need of some assistance. My son, your feelings are not easy for a father to ignore whence you pick up a sick sense for it."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. He guessed that this was Kratos' -his real father- way of telling him that his father senses were tingling and he just decided to nonchalantly pop in. He had admittedly grown used to the ex-mercenary he called "father" just showing up out of nowhere without rhyme or reason, he even knew that the man mostly wanted to see how Saphira was developing.

Even though Kratos tried denying it, everyone knew that the man had a soft-spot for the child which was his granddaughter.

Kratos continued, opening his eyes and frowning a little "Your soul was calling out to me and you knew something like this was happening, I can't just ignore my family being in danger."

The two sword masters both sighed and looked away from each other awkwardly. Lloyd had to admit that he never thought that Kratos would actually say something so...uncharacteristically cheesy. He smiled sincerely at his father and sighed with a slight roll of his eyes, but then he gave a serious look to both Kratos and Genis which told them both the exact same thing, letting them know what he was doing instantly.

"Lloyd Irving! are you crazy!? That's a suicide mission!" Genis exclaimed in an effort to dissuade his friend from doing anything dangerous but was stopped right when Kratos intervened blocked his path by grabbing his shoulder suddenly. The young half-elf looked up at the much older half-angel and gave a small glare to him which Kratos blatantly ignored.

"He will be fine. I have faith in him." Kratos whispered to the worried half-elf to try and get him to calm down. He knew it didn't really help dispel the worries that the intelligent elfish teen was feeling but he didn't have a single doubt that his son would perish, even if it were a chance.

He didn't wish to stop his son from doing the right thing.

But, before the master swordsman went to leave, he retreated back towards the sofa where Saphira was still sound asleep. She was frowning a bit in her sleep as she curled up into a tiny ball which was so cute that it made the girl's father smile softly down at her.

Lloyd wished he didn't have to wake her up but he didn't want her to worry so he knew he had no choice otherwise she would be scared out of her mind.

Lloyd used the softest hushed tone he could possibly use as he ruffled her hair a bit to arouse the sleeping toddler "Saphira, sweetheart, wake up..."

Saphira stirred a bit to her father's voice and weakly cracked her eyes open to look up at his face. She reached up to rub her eyes to wake herself up more and she wore a little confused expression as she asked with the fact that she was mostly limp giving away that she was still half asleep.

"Papa?..." She asked, blinking weakly.

Lloyd stroked her forehead gently, knowing that his daughter was still very sleepy, and he wore a very apologetic smile on his face. He a pang of guilt for waking up his baby girl but he knew that he had to in order to avoid stress. He continued to stroke her head with his palm, his fingers delicately brushing along the silky strands of brown hair covering her head.

"Daddy's going to go and look for mama, I'll be back soon..."

He frowned inwardly. In truth, he had no idea if he would come back alive. If that storm is as heavy as it sounds and if the ground was flooding before as well as the fact that if Colette's attackers were still at the scene, he knew that there was a slim chance he wouldn't come back. It may have been a small chance but that chance was still prominent.

But as long as he followed Kratos' advice about studying your enemies, he knew he would be fine.

Saphira asked weakly, reaching up for her father's face "...Do you have t' go?"

Lloyd wanted to say no. He wanted to stay by her side and never leave it as well as hug her tightly. But he couldn't, he couldn't just sit back and watch his wife die! He just wouldn't ever forgive himself if she died because of a selfish mistake.

Lloyd fought back tears as he stroked his daughter's cheek whilst caressing it delicately in his palm "Sorry, Saffy, I have to go and get your mother home."

He gently nuzzled her forehead, instead of kissing it, and he stood up.

Before he left, though, he looked over towards her "Now be good for your grandfather, alright?"

"Awright, papa...wuv you."

"Love you too, Saphira."

And with those last sword of words said; Lloyd travelled back towards the door and grabbed his sword holsters from a little shelves atop of some cupboards in the kitchen. He slowly buckled them into place so they could be placed on each side of his waist. He even gave his hair a bit of a run through, to make it all the more spiky, and he went towards the door.

He sent a look over towards a worrying Genis and Kratos before opening the door, only to be knocked off his feet slightly as wind blasted through the house and water started to basically pour in through the front door.

Thankfully, Lloyd was caught by Genis who gave him an encouraging push back to his feet as he pushed himself out the door while fighting against the raging winds and water. He felt like he was being wrapped up by a sub-zero freezing moisture and he knew his body went numb from the water embracing him.

He hurried so the two could close the door behind him and prevent flooding the house.

When he was outside he got a good look at what this storm had done to his once peaceful home.

Homes were already beginning to be swallowed up by the flood rushing across the earth, signs were already nearly under the water, people had evacuated up to the rooftops just encase, shouts of panic and fear filled the air as to indicate that the townsfolk were unharmed but seriously shaken by whatever was going on.

It was then that the man sought out his companion.

Noishe was still alive and kicking after all these years, it was like any time had hardly gone by for him (especially not years) and he was being kept in a pen so he wouldn't cause any trouble for the townsfolk -even if they were to care at this point in time -and be disruptive.

But Noishe was freaking out whilst yowling and yipping as if trying to get out despite the fact that if nobody were there with him, he would most certainly be dragged down into the streaming rapid roads to drown.

Lloyd frantically pushed through the flooded road, the water swallowing his whole body up to his shoulders and neck as he tried to get to the frantic Noishe's stable.

The canine-ish creature reared and yowled in panic, whining as he tried to escape the holding pen he was locked up in.

The swordsman desperately shoved through the rushing water as he tried his best to each his essential guardian and canine-like friend.

"H-Hang on, Noishe! I'm almost there!" Lloyd exclaimed, reaching out for the startled Protozoan as he tried to grasp hold of the wooden door which was only just above water.

Lloyd didn't even waste time until he actually made it to the stable and used his finger to latch around the little hook that kept the door closed. He held on to it tightly to avoid being swept off by the currents and he grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes closed to try and think of his wife and daughter, trying to be strong for them.

He felt his heart thump as a lightning of voices spun around in his head, mostly the voices of those he had met on his adventures.

Suddenly his eyes shot open and a new fire of determination sparked in his brown pools.

With the hook unlatched, the red swordsman quickly wrapped his arms around the dog-like creatures neck. Of course Noishe's ears flicked as he gave a whine of confusion before he bolted out the stable and started to run on all fours on to the path where the village connected to the Iselia forest.

'I'm coming, Colette! Hold on!' He thought desperately, gripping on to the creature's ivory fur as he mounted on his back whilst he was bouncing with every leaping stride it took to carry the both of them towards the forest.

Lloyd just hoped that his wife was alright...

* * *

**A/N: Alright, this was originally linked with the next chapter but I thought that it was quite confusing with one big chapter. I thought that I should edit some chapters to make it fit the story together and make it flow much better.**

**Anyways, let's see if Lloyd can make it to Colette on time! Can he?**

**-Chloemcg**


	4. When everything changes pt 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

"Colette?!" Lloyd called out as he arrived at his destination, his hands cupping his mouth as he hoped that it would amplify his voice as it carried through the heavy rain storm.

His eyes were filling with tears as his whole world spun around him whilst he searched every inch of land in his sights for his dearly beloved, but he couldn't find a single sign of her. He may have kept his resolve strong for this long but now his confidence was at breaking point!

His heart was breaking and every bit of his emotion was starting to smash him from the inside out. The swordsman unsheathed one of his twin sword whilst tears started to run down his cheeks, although he wasn't entirely sure if it were tears or if it was just the rain.

He didn't care either way as he looked all around him, his legs keeping him glued to the spot as his eyes were wide with disbelief. Just where was his wife?!

Colette's wagon was here with bloodstains all over the wheels so that proved that she was here at one point in time.

...But then he felt something brush against his trouser leg, making him look down. A gasp escaped his throat and his eyes went widened. Surely this wasn't what he thought it was...he didn't want to believe it, he hoped that this couldn't be what it looked like!

He picked up a single feather off the ground and he held it in his hand before it collapsed into nothing but sparkles and nothingness.

That was close to confirming his worst fears: Colette had probably been taken.

Upon coming up with this conclusion, Lloyd felt all the strength in his legs go as he collapsed on to the floor below. He forgot about the flooding and found that the water was raising to the width of his shoulders and neck. He didn't care anymore, though.

He lowered his head and his bangs were low too as they (and the darkness of the night) shielded his expression from any eye-witnesses. His voice trembled as he held one of his twin blades tight in his grip, teardrops falling to the muddy ground his knees were touching.

Finally, after having to accept this as reality, Lloyd lifted his face towards the skies and bellowed up to the stormy heavens as lightning crashed in the skies and thus momentarily covering the whole land in a flash of lightning, which was followed by a loud smashing sound that snapped through the thin air within several seconds afterward.

"PLEASE, NOOOOO!"

His heart engulfed by despair, he held the handle of one of his blades tight before stabbing it into the ground.

Whilst it didn't make him feel any better, it certainly made for a heavier atmosphere.

He kept his head down as he openly wept over the loss of his beautiful wife.

However, then he heard some coughing coming from nearby.

Very weak coughing, sounding so delicate yet so he had to assume that his beautiful wife was not only alive but also somewhere hidden from plain sight. It actually made him exhale with huge amounts of relief in his tone as he quickly stood up with Noishe racing to be by his master's side.

He sheathed his sword again, slipping it into his holster, and he broke into a fast sprint despite the flash flood transpiring all around him and his companion.

The two raced into some foliage that was to their left and they couldn't help but feel a cold rush of adrenaline smack their immune systems hard. It gave their legs an extra bit of strength to run through the heavy rainfall that was giving them both a big lashing despite the fact that they were being somewhat protected by the trees.

The forest had a tall abundance of trees and the trunks were so thick, they could hardly squeeze themselves through the woodlands.

Each time Lloyd or Noishe took a single step, leaves crunched beneath their feet and snapped through the forest.

The thunder and lightning was able to help them both see in the dark despite the fact that the water was gradually rising and could actually engulf the both of them, causing them to drown.

Neither of them cared that they could start drowning at any time, Colette needed to be found...and fast!

Eventually, after much searching through the seemingly endless abundance of woodlands, both Lloyd and Noishe found themselves in a clearing and they were both equally shocked at what -or who- they discovered there.

Colette looked exhausted as she held on to a piece of wood to keep herself afloat. She had her angel wings out but they looked like they had lost most of their use hours ago. Her face was bruised and cut and she also had a noticeable burn mark on the back of her hand, just like the mark their daughter was born with, and her beautiful blue eyes which were richer than the purest sapphires were filled with tears that were waiting to fall.

Lloyd felt his heart stop for the first time since his daughter was born.

Colette looked horrible! She looked so weakened and not to mention, that burn mark looked very painful. He was surprised that she was still conscious!

"C-Colette!?" He gasped in horror, his eyes widening for the briefest moments before he glared determinedly and went to go and get his wife so he could take her home, it obviously wasn't safe out here.

The master swordsman pushed through the strong currents once more, Noishe behind him as he used his forehead and snout to push him through the heavy flow of water.

The poor half-angel woman weakly looked over towards her husband and smiled weakly in relief upon seeing him. She used as much energy as she could to reach out to her soulmate, despite the fact that this made it so she was very close to going under water.

"L-Ll...Lloyd..." She murmured with exhaustion.

"Don't worry, I'm coming over! J-Just stay with me...please..." His voice sounded surprisingly soft and comforting as he made his way towards her gradually, the water currents slowly rising to bury him up to his chin, soaking his ponytail and a small portion of his spiky hair as it went under water.

Noishe had to lift up his head so he could breathe but he used his chest instead to push the man towards his adored.

He reached his hand out towards Colette when he was close enough, offering her to take it. He watched as she slowly grasped it into her hand although she was pulled under the water completely by some strange force. Also, Noishe started to become panicked as he let out a loud howl of fear.

"Easy Noishe, easy!" The swords master exclaimed to his big canine companion, trying to get him to cease struggling.

Lloyd knew what this meant. There were monsters around here! Noishe was always a scaredy cat around monsters as he would always run off whenever there are any beasts about.

So, feeling like there was no choice as his grip from Colette was slipping, Lloyd sucked in a big breath before diving under the water.

It was dark, almost pitch black. There was no warmth or joy in this environment but the ripples bouncing off the raindrops from above did manage to make it somewhat enchanting.

Lloyd had to squint his eyes to try and see where Colette was, despite that he was still holding her hand, and he narrowed his eyes in silent rage.

A spectre-like shadow had grabbed a tight hold on Colette's leg, its evil red eyes narrowed at the woman it held on to her tightly. It seemed to smirk evilly as it clutched on to Colette's leg so hard that it could rival the strength their daughter had whenever she would run over and hug her mother's leg, and that was very tight.

Lloyd could see that she was losing oxygen fast!

So, not wanting to waste another moment, Lloyd unsheathed both of his swords this time and started to swing them towards the shadow.

The attacks seemed to have no affect on the shaded creature and Lloyd somehow wasn't surprised to see this. It would make sense as shadows cannot be harmed by swords alone...

But then he decided to try a different tactic.

It was crazy and it was risky, especially under these circumstances. But he really had no other choice to do this...

So, his mind relaxing as it started to become calm like a neat river without any obstruction or debris, he closed his eyes and mentally took another deep breath in before his eyes reopened and he cried out, his words rather muffled up by fact that he was under water instead of up in the surface where he could speak clearly.

As he bellowed, pitch black bubbles started to erupt from his lungs and bobble like little jellyfish as they slowly rose up before finally bursting seconds later.

"**DEMON FANG!**"

After swishing his sword sideways, Lloyd watched as a rift of light slashed the shadow in half and made it screech before dissipating into a puff of black smog that made the water underneath much more darker.

The red clad swordsman swam downwards in a breath stroke before he clasped Colette's hands into his own. She was obviously unconscious and, fearing the worst, he quickly felt her wrist to check for a pulse...and he was relieved when he discovered one. It was a bit weak but it was still there.

He quickly adjusted Colette in his arms, making sure to carry her bridal style. However he couldn't swim back up as his arms were too full.

He also used up a lot of his air supply by casting that spell. He wouldn't last long if he stayed under any longer. He needed to refill his lungs with air and quickly!

He struggled and kicked to try and get to the surface.

But he couldn't move anymore.

He started to give up and his eyes started to close softly. He softly exhaled the last of his oxygen and started to fall unconscious himself. He was also swallowing a bit of water inadvertently as he had to, he could no longer hold his breath and swallowing water was the only way he could sustain himself.

As the world around him faded into darkness, he couldn't help but wonder if his daughter would be alright without them both...he didn't want to leave her but he could not get back up on his own.

But, fortunately for him, Lloyd felt something reach down into the water and grab him by the ponytail before yanking him upwards just before he could suffocate and drown to his death along with his precious Colette.

When he got his taste of fresh oxygen, Lloyd coughed and hacked for air as he tried to open his eyes and see who it was who saved him. He weakly opened his eyes and found himself staring directly into a pair of very familiar eyes which he couldn't help but smile at softly.

"D-" He coughed weakly, mumbling his saviour's identity "Dad..."

Kratos smiled in relief, clearly happy that his son was alright. He continued to hold Lloyd by the hair even though he was concerned by the fact that the man was under a lot longer than need be.

He had came running when Noishe had came back to the village and he knew something was wrong when his son hadn't returned with said wimpy Arshis so followed Noishe to the man's location, but he didn't forget to bring little Saphira with him, he didn't trust anybody with his beloved granddaughter and wouldn't even if they were the last people on the planet.

Lloyd looked carefully and was surprised to see that Saphira was curled up asleep in a sling-like pouch that was wrapped around his armoured chest.

He was vaguely aware as Kratos slowly plopped his son down on top of Noishe, making sure he was well mounted and he made sure that Colette was well-protected as he knew that it was going to be a bumpy ride.

The water was growing higher and Kratos had to jump atop of the Arshis too to keep Saphira out of the water.

He couldn't risk her being underwater too, she could possibly catch a cold!

After giving Noishe a whack across the flank, the creature howled before sprinting across the water on all fours, his head held up high so he could not swallow any of the awful water that was covering all of Iselia in a flash flood. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky in a momentary blinding radiance, making sure it would leave the whole world blindingly white for a few seconds before the scenery returned to normal.

Lloyd gradually regained his senses as he held on to Colette tightly, refusing to let her go until they got her to a doctor or something. Although he had to wonder, what had happened to the wagon she was supposed to be going to that important meeting in? What happened to the driver and, most importantly, who had hurt his wife?

He didn't know the answers to any of those queries yet but, whatever the culprits wanted, they would have to go through him to get it...especially whenever the ones he loved were concerned.

But then, suddenly, Lloyd looked down to find Colette was barely conscious as she gripped on tight to a handful of the fabric of his shirt, minding the tails of white blowing through the wind behind them as the rain pummelled them. The half-angel groaned, her eyes lidded softly as she looked directly up at her husband. She was clearly in pain but she tried not to let it get in the way of what she wanted to say.

Her wings even brushed against the whipping cold winds as she was obviously too exhausted to tuck them away.

Colette grimaced as she rubbed her face against her lover's shirt and felt a sharp pain jab her chest, an indication of a cracked rib or two, and she spoke breathlessly in a pained voice...like the one she used whenever she was going through her trial during the beginning of their journey of regeneration.

Her face was chalk white and her lips were somewhat purple as she had some difficulty breathing.

"L...L-Lloyd...y-you must l-l-listen..." She struggled to speak through a hoarse tone although there was an ominous air to the way she spoke now, it no longer held its normal kindness and compassion but instead it sounded grim and full of worry.

Lloyd (meanwhile) cradled his wife in his arms and started adjusting her so she could be more comfortable.

Colette coughed and wheezed as she continued speaking "...T-They are after...Saphira...they w-want to use her...t-they attacked...so I could h-hand her o-over..."

Lloyd was both startled and confused. Who were "they"? Why did they want their daughter? Actually he had a feeling he knew why, but he refused to believe it. He looked down at the partially conscious Chosen of regeneration, his eyes widening with growing fear and he held her just a bit tighter as the thunder crashed from the heavens again.

His heart was basically hammering against his rib cage it was pumping so fast, he broke into a sweat despite it being freezing cold. This was one of those rare occasions when he would actually feel afraid of a potential threat and he really didn't get scared.

"Who, Colette? Who attacked you?" He asked, fear leaking into his tone.

But he was horrified to discover that Colette had once again gone limp in his arms and when he quickly checked her pulse again, he was even more so when he found that her pulse was weakening considerably. It was enough to strike his heart like a razor sharp blade.

But, if that wasn't enough, she was actually beginning to stop breathing.

"COLETTE, WAKE UP!" He shouted, alarmed, and he looked over his shoulder to look directly into the eyes of his biological father with his face laced with urgency, his face going even whiter than possible when Colette had stopped breathing altogether "K-KRATOS, S-SHE'S NOT BREATHING!"

The swordsman with the spiky Burgundy hair was equally alarmed to hear this. Not only did Lloyd call him by his first name -a name the younger man rarely uses nowadays on account of his adopted father passing away with the request of asking him to call his other father "dad" every once in a while.

Lloyd was so clearly frightened now as his face was frozen still and full of fright.

Kratos looked down in deep thought before having an idea, judging by the sudden spark igniting inside his copper eyes, and he didn't dare waste a moment before he brought out his own sword and held it up high so it could glimmer in the heavy lightning strikes. He didn't know why he didn't do this earlier, he thought Colette could last until they got her some medical attention! Clearly this wasn't the case so he had to do this.

Taking in a deep breath, Kratos shouted "**FIRST AID!**"

Within seconds after the older man exclaimed this, Colette started to breathe again and her wounds looked a tad less serious as a mystical and soothing green glow encased her body like a cacoon. She was now asleep in her husband's arms and each breath she gave was slow and ragged, indicating that she could go back to that state at any time.

Lloyd was about to ask if it healed the woman completely but Kratos answered before he could "She should be stable until we get her home and to get a doctor to examine her. We need to keep an eye on her condition."

Lloyd nodded, silent. He didn't know whether he should be saying 'thank you' or not since he felt like he couldn't speak at all. His eyes momentarily looked away from Colette's sleeping form and he looked sympathetically at the three-year-old snuggled against Kratos' chest, seemingly not too disturbed by the heavy rainfall nor the lightning that snapped across the darkening skies every few minutes.

He felt his eyes harden whence he started to think about how this could affect poor little Saphira. She would undoubtedly be in tears when she hears that her mother almost died and is now sick.

It was a thought that broke Lloyd's heart as he finally looked towards the horizon, suddenly remembering that they were riding on Noishe as he galloped through the flooded pathway, and let out a small breath of relief when he could see the little town of Iselia right in front of them.

He still felt the rain hit his face but he didn't really care anymore.

'Hold on, Colette...hold on!' He thought desperately, gritting his teeth with determination.

There was no way he was going to let his family down and he could sense that his father wouldn't do so either. Everything the man did was to protect him and he couldn't help but see him and Dirk, his adopted father, as his role models in life. He adored everyone he knew with every bone in his body and that wouldn't change.

Colette's words still plagued him, though.

They rung repeatedly in his head as he tried to comprehend what had happened...but the important question was in all of this was: Who. Who had done this? Who wanted their daughter? Who was this mysterious culprit?

* * *

**A/N: Dun-dun-dunnnnn! CLIFFHANGER! **

**Will Colette be alright? Can Kratos and Lloyd save her in time? Just who is this mysterious threat? **

**And, I'm just going to say it right here and now: I was originally going to make this a continuation for TOS 2 and I still intend to keep it that way, I just don't know if you all will like it. If it isn't good, I'm sorry.**

**:( **

**Please review and if I make ANY mistakes, please tell me.**

**-Chloemcg**


	5. When everything changes pt 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

Lloyd sat in the bedroom, messaging Colette's pale hand as she lain in bed with her in a deep state of slumber.

A radiant glow of the bedside light made it so her graceful sleeping face was just visible in the darkened room. Of course, sitting by her side, was Lloyd who didn't dare abandon her side as he watched over her. He tried to ignore the doctor checking her over despite the sounds of thunder booming from the outside.

Whence the examination was over, the doctor put his stethoscope around his neck and started to tuck it around his neck as he started to speak "She appears to have exhausted herself and she may have suffered a fractured rib as well as swallowing some water. Otherwise, with a lot of tender loving care and plenty of bed-rest, she should make a full recovery."

Lloyd sighed in relief. He was happy that Colette was ok but he worried about how she was doing mentally, and what she could have possibly meant by someone hunting down their beloved daughter. What would her state be whence she awoke?

The mere thought of her being in pain made freezing cold chills trickle down his spine as he clasped his lover's hand.

He slowly turned his head to acknowledge the elf doctor and he muttered a small "thank you". He heard the door click closed as he then looked back at his wife, his heart froze as if hibernating for awhile until he saw a single sign of life come from Colette.

His soft eyes locked on to the woman's rising and falling chest as he kept a sharpening eye of her breathing. He wanted to look away but couldn't find it in his heart to do so.

Colette looked so beautiful whilst she was asleep. She looked so angelic, in a sense. While she was sort of an angel it didn't change the fact that she had stolen his heart over and over again, without even really knowing it.

"What am I going to do with you, you dork?" He gave a dry chuckle, a brass sound that managed to rumble in his vocal chords.

He bent down and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. Upon feeling his touch, Colette stirred a bit. She seemed to have been peaceful until now, it was like she had been trying to awake herself from her deep slumber which had become more desperate just after Lloyd had kissed her.

He watched with care as the former Chosen of regeneration only slowly moved around and tried to lift some of her limbs -her arms, especially- and Colette moaned under her breath.

Colette's eyes slowly opened and it revealed a stunning radiance that Lloyd had never seen before. There was a certain love in her eyes which her swordsman of a husband couldn't ignore, they just mystified him. But, Colette tried to speak as her heavy eyes landed on the face of her lover...he looked very blurry as his face came in and out of focus in a similar way to a broken camera lens.

"Lloyd..." She began, her voice weak and delicate.

Lloyd simply silenced her with a small "shhh", as he put his hand over her cheek and cradled it with his palm. He looked directly at her and softly watched as his wife became more aware of her surroundings, although it was extremely obvious that she was still exhausted from almost drowning.

Colette sighed tiredly as she looked up at her husband, her eyes heavy. She blinked repeatedly as she tried to get her vision to clear but she could only make out shapes and colours and nothing else. The chosen softly shifted herself so she could roll on her side yet she grunted when she could hardly do the job and fell back completely on to the bed.

She let out a sigh of irritation as she laid on her back with a small frown on her face.

Lloyd smiled sympathetically. He knew that his wife would have trouble moving around in bed, she had almost drowned out there after all. The swordsman slowly reached forwards to gently slide one hand underneath her touch her back and he used the other hand to support her by holding her shoulder.

"Here, let me help you..." He said, removing his hand off her face, and slowly proceeded to turn her over so she could lay down on her side to face him.

Colette closed her eyes as her husband slowly done this task and she even used a bit of her own energy to help him with this since she felt so unbelievably weakened by the events of this evening.

The chosen opened her eyes again when she found that she was looking directly into the kindly heroic eyes of her guardian whom she relied on.

Lloyd slowly removed his hands from her body and took her hand in his once more so he could try speaking to her despite her feeling weakened.

The man kissed her forehead and pressed his own forehead against hers as tears started to stream down his face as he closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the flow of tears.

He used his free hand to support the back of her head, feeling her blonde hair tickle his fingertips as he made sure to hold her still.

Lloyd didn't wish to make his wife even more tired than necessary...

"Colette...I thought for sure that I'd lost you..." He choked back a sob, his jaws tightening despite his mouth being wrenched closed.

He could hear Colette murmur his name as she kissed his lips to try and reassure him that she was alright and not going anywhere anytime soon.

Not even heaven could take her while she was with Lloyd...she loved him way too much.

Colette couldn't help but feel sad for Lloyd. He was genuinely worried sick that he was going to lose her and raise their daughter all alone.

She held him tight and made sure to comfort her husband as much as she could, nothing could stop her from doing that, not even exhaustion.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd, I didn't mean to make you worry so much..."

"Don't apologize, remember when I told you that you are the only one I'd cry for."

For what felt like hours, neither of them spoke a word but they stayed in each other's snugly embrace. They stayed held in each other's arms whilst managing to be completely content with the company they had managed to keep with each other. They both felt their hearts beat simultaneously and their lips had managed to link more then once, their connection being like two pieces of a jig-saw puzzle.

Husband and wife were perfectly happy for a time until Lloyd had recalled what Colette had said earlier regarding her attackers: "...T-They are after...Saphira...they w-want to use her...t-they attacked...so I could h-hand her o-over..."

Even though Colette's words were coated with exhaustion and pain, Lloyd understood every word she spoke. It honestly worried him how she was attacked on her way to a simple meeting and he was even more worried how they could leave her for dead and be after their precious little jewel.

He clasped her hand even tighter and he frowned at her silently, his eyes full of patience but full of fear as well. He didn't know much about fatherhood but he was going to protect his family with everything he had.

Colette saw that expression in his eyes and she decided to answer the question he was so desperate to know the answer to as she tried to sit up. Lloyd watched with concern as he saw his wife tried to move herself despite her condition and, deciding to let his worried side take over, he put an arm in front of her and restrained her gently. Even though she could have gotten out of the grip easily under normal circumstances, she was too tired to argue.

She slumped back down on to her back, thumping her head sullenly against the pillow in a slight pout, and she laid on the mattress flat. Colette looked Lloyd right in the eye as she recalled what she could about her attackers and she could feel her eyes tear up with concern as she remembered it all.

She started clutching Lloyd's hand tight and she squeezed her eyes shut, her heart starting to become engulfed with those horrid memories.

"It was in the afternoon, about five hours after we left, and we were half-way through the forest...when some Desians suddenly attacked us. I couldn't understand what they were talking about at first since I was in the back of the wagon when we were stopped."

Colette tried to recall everything else but she started to panic whenever she did "I went out and discovered that killed the driver of the wagon. T-They wanted Saphira, they even knew her name! They kept calling her the "Child of ruin", though, and I tried to fend them off myself but...they somehow over-powered me..."

Lloyd could sense the distress in Colette's voice. He listened patiently with his eyes wide open and his throat starting to close tight so he couldn't swallow properly. He didn't know how to feel as he listened to his beloved's story and he could swear that he was at least feeling the overwhelming urge to go on a murder spree and kill the Desians who dared attack his wife and go after his child.

But, regardless of his parental instincts being torn up like a chew toy in the jaws of a teething puppy, the swordsman in red continued to listen as he felt his brown hair bristle slightly in the slight breeze which he could feel brewing from maybe a window downstairs or something...he didn't dare look to investigate since he knew that hearing this was way more important.

Colette's eyes were tearing up again as she sniffled, tears trailing down her cheeks "W-When I tried to get them to stay away from her, knowing that their sins couldn't be forgiven, even by the goddess Martel, they beat me up and...left me in the rain to d-die..."

When she finished, Colette cried her eyes out as she sobbed. Lloyd knew that the poor half-angel/half-human couldn't sit up to hug him so he decided to lean down so he could wrap his arms delicately around her weak form.

She wept heavily into his shoulder as she gripped on as tight as she could to him at that moment (which wasn't a strong grip at all) and she felt the tears drip down her pinking cheeks.

Lloyd's eyes flashed with guilt and he started rubbing her back up and down in a pattern as he helped her lean against him, being so gentle one would think she was made of the finest of glass, and he felt his heart split in two when his wife cried like this. He never heard her cry like this before and he never wished to again, especially when said breakdown was concerning their pride and joy.

He couldn't even manage to say any soothing words to calm her down, but he did cradle her in his arms as he tried to rock her from side to side as he held her close.

She needed to sleep and Lloyd knew that this would be a good manner as to how to get her to go to a deep slumber.

It worked with their daughter, it would probably work with Colette too.

Speaking of whom, it was then that Lloyd and Colette looked towards the door when they heard it creak a fraction.

They were both speechless whenever they saw the centre of their worries standing by the door with a concerned little warm smile on her lips as she held a handful of hand-picked flowers that had obviously came from the front garden.

Her sweet little eyes were big as she slowly approached the foot of the king-sized bed.

Saphira slowly walked over and peeked at the foot of the bed, standing on the tips of her toes as she peered over the oak footboard of the master bed.

She wore a little worried look as she looked at her mother, whom smiled tiredly over towards her.

She smiled gently back, finding the courage to waddle over towards her father's side of the bed and lifting her free hand up towards him whilst she clutched the miniature bouquet of flowers in her tiny fist.

Lloyd smiled a bit whilst knowing exactly what Saphira was requesting from him. She had obviously thought, by adorably naive mistake, that flowers would be the cure to ailments since she had made that mistake quite often despite both him and her mother trying to convince her otherwise.

He bent down and scooped his daughter up into his arms before gently settling her down on the blankets next to her mother.

Colette seemed to perk up upon seeing her beloved little girl as she snuggled with the three-year-old.

Saphira, smiling adorably, held the flowers out towards her mother with a rather obvious look of concern shining inside her childish eyes.

"I picked these for you, mama...I hope they make you feel better." Saphira said, gently putting the flowers on her mother's chest before she carefully shuffled up to snuggle up with her mother, curling up beside her as she nuzzled the half-angel with huge amounts of affection.

Colette wrapped her arms around her daughter, embracing her in a cuddle. She smiled at her daughter's thoughtfulness and momentarily found the strength to look over at Lloyd and give him a little smile that basically begged him to climb into bed with them.

Lloyd just couldn't ignore that look. No matter how manly he tried to be, no matter how tough he tried to make his heart, he would always melt like butter underneath that adorable smile of hers. It was a fact he couldn't escape.

So, reluctantly, he climbed into bed but was weary of his wife's condition as he curled around her and snuggled both of his girls with a warm smile creeping on his face.

He was still worried about the whole attack, but he felt like maybe -just maybe- things could be alright again. As long as he could be there for his family, he didn't care what happened. But he knew that he would do anything to protect them, no matter what it took for him.

He loved Saphira, he would NEVER let those monsters hurt her as long as he was still breathing.

* * *

**A/N: Awwww, that's the end of this chapter. **

**Next we get to the most important bit of this story so far, let's see if Lloyd and Colette can keep their daughter safe from the Desians. I can't wait to see if you like the new edited version of this fanfic, this is my first TOS fic so please take it easy on me.**

**Please review and look at the previous chapters, which have been edited now.**

**-Chloemcg**


	6. Birthday bash pt 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

Several years later...

Lloyd's face glistened with sweat as the sound of something hitting metal constantly rung in his ears. He was wearing a black silk T-shirt instead of his normal red dwarven attire complete with random piece of bandage with a towel wrapped around his neck to keep himself from getting too sweaty and he had a very good reason to be doing this as he looked down at his creation.

He had been crafting something special for his daughter's birthday. He just couldn't believe that his and Colette's little girl had been welcomed into the world fourteen years ago and now she was growing into a big grown up young lady.

It was a thought that almost made him shed a tear every time he thought about it, he just wished that time would slow down just a little bit so he could spend more time with the child she had grown accustomed to being with.

He whacked a stone hammer hard against the little piece of metal he had been crafting, trying to keep it nice and even as he heard the hammer smack hard against the metal surface.

It was moments like this he was thankful to have been raised by a dwarf for so many years, it taught him something's about being some sort of blacksmith on the side of being a hero.

His eyes were focused on the little thing that he was trying to shape before tonight, he didn't wish for this present to be late.

But he jumped a bit when he suddenly heard the sounds of someone rapping their fist against the door and he whirled around to face the mahogany rectangular piece of wood that acted as a barrier for him and the outside world from in this work-shed.

He stared at the door for several moments, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He hoped that it wasn't his daughter who had come to see him, that wouldn't only be abnormal for her behaviour but it would also spoil the birthday present he was making her!

"Who is it?" He called, hoping to hear a response from the person knocking.

"Its Genis, you idiot, can I come in?"

Lloyd smirked deviously "What's the magic word?"

"...Please."

Lloyd chuckled under his breath and got off his behind and sauntered casually towards the door.

He could basically feel the irritation his friend was feeling seep through the door as he reached for the bronze doorknob and twisted it in a clockwise direction. He pulled the door open and a now young adult Genis slowly entered with a grumpy scowl worn on his face as he sent a small withering look to his friend.

Lloyd shrugged with a smirk as if to say "Meh, what can I do?"

Genis rolled his eyes and decided to get the task at hand out of the way before he shared another awkward moment with his friend. He walked towards his friend and asked him, folding his arms across his chest. He watched as the swordsman wandered back over towards the desk where he was trying to forge something special.

"Lloyd, I have a bad feeling about tonight...I feel like something could go horribly wrong!" The young half elf ran a hand through his spiky white hair with his eyes full of worry, his tone

Lloyd looked at his friend and frowned. He knew that ever since his voice had started breaking, that Genis had been a worry wart but to be as panicky as to warn Lloyd about it must be important. However he also knew that sometimes Genis had a tendency to have an active imagination so, he didn't know what to think.

"Wrong?" The swordsman repeated, dabbing his sweaty forehead with the towel he wore "How do you mean?"

Genis thought deeply, pondering on his next words carefully. He felt bad for having to tell Lloyd this but he knew that he had no choice but to. It concerned everything his friend had loved after all.

"Well I-" He started to say but was interrupted by someone else coming in as they pushed open the door and wandered into the work shed with a small confused smile on their pretty face.

Colette wandered in, a hairbrush in hand as she looked around for something. She seemed to be deep in thought as she mumbled something incoherent but she didn't seem to be completely aware since she quickly slammed her big toe on a loose bit of floorboard.

"Hmm...I wonder where that girl could've gone t-!"

Colette was swiftly cut off as soon as she felt her the toe of her foot catch against the loosened floorboard that stuck up a bit but always managed to make her trip whenever she came in. She shouted and became startled as she waved her arms around frantically to catch her balance but only to find herself falling towards the floor.

Colette closed her eyes as the floor came rushing up to her face, bracing herself for the impact, but she suddenly felt something catch her with strong arms.

"...You can open your eyes now, Colette." Lloyd's voice spoke after several moments of awkward silence.

Colette supposed that Lloyd was on the ball and quickly caught her before she could topple to the ground completely.

She opened her eyes and found that her suspicions were confirmed whence she found herself staring right into her husband's eyes. He seemed to look at her jokingly as he gave her a smirk that basically told her that she had better be more careful.

The woman grinned with embarrassment as a certain heat rose on her cheeks.

Blushing, Colette quickly regained her composure and started itching the back of her head as she looked away from Lloyd's thoughtful gaze with embarrassment. She still somehow kept hold of that hairbrush despite almost falling to the floor.

"Ack! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you two!" She said, clearly noticing that Genis was present as well.

The Chosen of regeneration couldn't deny that she felt her stomach tighten. She was certain that if her wings were out, they would have certainly been pomfing right then and there...thankfully she kept them tucked away.

Straightening her posture even more so, she coiled her digits tightly around the hairbrush and tried her best not to be anymore embarrassing then she already was being.

"It's okay, Colette, don't apologise." Genis sighed, shaking his head.

Colette reopened her eyes and decided to get back to business but, before she did, something caught her eye. It was something that sat on the table which she noticed that her beloved worked on intensely since the early hours of that very same morning.

"Lloyd, what's that you were making?" She asked, peering closely at the object resting on the table.

Genis looked at it too, curious as to what the half-angel was so interested in.

Lloyd walked back over to his work desk and revealed to them what he had been working on.

It was a little necklace with a bright blue sapphire attached to the pendant, the pendant itself made with the purest of silver. The sapphire itself looked like it had been polished regularly until its potential use and it had been well taken care of. The sapphire gleamed brightly as it sight beside the incomplete pendant.

Colette smiled, gasping in awe of her husband's work.

She knew that Lloyd had been pretty eager with his rather poor craftsmanship but this seemed more like a jewel that matched the amateurish quality that had an equal amount of heart and soul put into it. She could basically see within an instant that Lloyd had worked intensely hard on this little trinket and, even though it was a great gift, she had a feeling that his adoration was nothing compared to that.

Clasping her hands together with her eyes glistening with tears, Colette grinned from ear-to-ear "Oh, Lloyd! I-Its amazing!"

But, while Genis seemed equally impressed, he looked up at Lloyd and glared at the man with a brow "...You forgot about Saphira's birthday, didn't you?"

Lloyd felt his chest tighten. He had been found out! He didn't mean to be such an awful father, although it wasn't quite that he forgot her birthday in general..but he did forget about something important relating to the occasion, however.

He blushed a bright red, his eyes nervously glancing up towards the ceiling as he found it much better to look at then everybody's faces.

"W-What? No! Of course I didn't!" He looked down, scratching the back of his head sheepishly "...I might have just forgot about her birthday present."

Colette and Genis both glared at the master swordsman and watched as he shrank in his chair with the most shameful of grins plastering itself on his lips. His shoulders became bunched and his head ducked in between them as he tried to hide the fact that he was now blushing so much that his whole face was a vibrant red.

Genis smacked Lloyd at the back of the head, glaring daggers at his friend "Lloyd this is serious! If you keep forgetting important stuff like this then you're going to have a daughter who hates you!"

Lloyd sighed and looked down, his eyes closing shamefully. He knew his friend was right, he always was. But he found his heart breaking in two pieces when the mere thought of Saphira disliking him crossed his mind and he even gave a murmur of agreement as he looked downcast.

If he had any, he would have been shoving his hands into his pockets to try and avoid looking like a child being scolded.

He nodded "Yeah, you're right...that's why I'm finishing it now."

Colette, getting over the initial annoyance she felt, patted Lloyd's shoulder supportively "Well it still looks beautiful, Lloyd, I'm sure Saphira will love it."

But then something clicked inside her head as she gasped in realisation with her bright blue eyes full of shock as her mouth was agape and her shoulders tensed up.

"Wait...have either of you seen Saphira anywhere?"

Lloyd and Genis looked at each other with shock overcoming their own facial features. That was a legitimate query, where was Saphira? Well, knowing the birthday girl, she had probably snuck off to spend some time alone. But doing this on her birthday? It was almost unheard of.

Where had she gone?

* * *

The winds had begun to pick up and cradle the branches of the thickening forest, the sounds of bristling leaves filling the crisp air as the sounds of heavy breathing mixed with the distinct noises of something...swiping through thin air, cutting it like melted butter.

Shining through some little holes in the trees gaps, sunlight peaked through and managed to catch the figure of a young teenaged girl whom was blind folded with a battle stance readied and she held two different blades in her hands. The two blades, as well as the girl's closed eyes, were the only things that the sunlight touched as the figure owning both stood in the centre of the thicket.

The young girl had long brown hair that reached down to her shoulders all though it was slightly spiky and poked out in odd angles.

She wore a black shirt with a red jacket over it, her trousers were a matching colouration as she held two swords at the ready, black fingerless gloves worn on each of her hands, especially the right hand.

Swords held at the ready whilst she was blindfolded, the girl felt her ear twitch at the sudden sound of a branch snapping at the distance. She smirked silently at the sound and, with a cry of determination, the adsolent daughter of Lloyd and Colette leapt high into the air and tossed one of her swords towards the direction of the sound she had heard.

Upon landing on one knee, she heard the sword stab into something nearby and she slowly reached for her blindfold and lifted a piece of it off her eye and she frowned in disappointment when she discovered that her blade had simply stabbed into a nearby tree.

Saphira groaned. She hoped that she would get it right this time...

"You know, you should practice that aim of yours..." A voice said and it made Saphira lift her gaze as she looked towards the tree she threw her sword at and found that a very familiar man had casually poked his head from around it with a small smirk on his lips "but you may become a swords mistress yet, my granddaughter."

Saphira smiled brightly, her sapphire blue eyes sparkling with recognition. She sheathed her other sword in her holster which was strapped to her back and she shot up to her feet and bolted towards Kratos whom had only just avoided being skewered accidentally by his own granddaughter.

"Grandpa Kratos!" She exclaimed, running towards her grandfather and threw her arms around him whilst nuzzling her cheek against his midsection affectionately.

Kratos smiled warmly down at his granddaughter and hugged her back. He really hadn't aged at all but the only exception was a few subtle age lines under his eyes as he looked down at the girl who he adored with every fibre of his being, just as much as he loved his daughter-in-law and his son.

"Hello, my little one. I came to wish you a happy birthday."

Saphira sighed and smiled. Yes, it was her birthday and she knew that this one was of great importance since it involved something that made her stomach twist up in knots and corkscrews as she thought about it. She even felt like she would be sick since it was such a frivolous festivity.

She continued to hug her grandfather regardless, trying to forget about that.

"Thanks. I just hope that it goes alright."

Kratos knew that Saphira wasn't happy about this birthday and he really couldn't put fault on her for that.

Saphira wasn't really into the things that other girls liked now that she was a teenager and, as it was her descent into womanhood, she was going to be forced to have this big party which all of those closest to her were to be attending...that and she had to dance with all the bachelors of the village which he, Lloyd and Saphira all despised for the exact same reason...

Well, Saphira had a more solid reason for it and said reason had just decided to pick then to show up.

A young man approached Saphira and Kratos with a smirk settled on his lips.

He had dark blue hair and he had tan skin, he had several scars on his face and he also seemed to be very strong and muscular around the chest region.

He skilfully weaved through the trees of the woodlands and smiled wider upon seeing the young lady he had come to see.

"Hi, Stryker!" Saphira exclaimed joyfully, letting go of Kratos to meet the young man who looked about three years older than her. He slyly greeted her and approached her almost quietly and Saphira embraced her lover joyfully but was met with a kiss on the lips by the young man. She pulled away and wiped her sleeve across her lips to get rid of the kiss she was given.

"Stryker! you know how much I hate kisses..." She groaned embarrassingly with a blush creeping on to her cheeks. Even after all these years, she still strongly disliked kisses for whatever reason as she continuously wiped at her lips to get rid of the remaining wetness of the kiss.

What the girl didn't know, however, was that her grandfather was basically sizzling with rage. He seemed to be silently seething on the inside as he held his hand over the hilt of his blade that had been safely tucked away in his belt holster that kept his sword nice and safe until use. He really disliked that boy but he couldn't explain why, he knew that Lloyd also disliked the boy and not just because he was dating his daughter...

The boy, named Stryker, simply rolled his eyes with a grin "Oh c'mon, babe, don't be such a stick-in-the-mud."

Saphira giggled, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing redder than a tomato. She softly let her boyfriend go went to go and retrieve her sword which was still stuck in the tree trunk as she tried to hide the fact that she was still redder then the reddest apple in history.

She slowly yanked her sword out of the bark and put the blade back in its holster as she looked back at her silent grandfather who was looking more and more stern with every second that had passed.

She noticed that look was getting more and more disconcerting as she knew her grandfather was probably upset about something and she knew it probably had something to do with the fact that Stryke had just kissed her.

Saphira walked back towards the two boys and gestured to them both "Stryker, this is my grandfather. Grandpa Kratos, this is my boyfriend."

So, nonchalantly, Stryker held his hand out and Kratos took it with a dark look on his face. He hated that deceitful smirk on that boy's face, it made him so angry and so insulted that this idiot had managed to slip into his beloved grandchild's fragile heart. The thought itself made his grip intensify on the boy's hand and, without even realising it, he didn't even notice that he was holding the boy's hand so incredibly tight that the sound of bones snapping could be heard.

He grit his teeth and narrowed his copper eyes at the young man who slowly started to back away from his girlfriend's hostile grandparent. However, Kratos' tightening grip had prevented the young man from doing so. It was becoming apparent that Kratos was disliking his granddaughter's boyfriend, very much.

Saphira decided to intervene before her grandfather had left her boyfriend with a crushed hand as she pulled Stryker away from him and she had a small conversation with the boy, whispering to him to go and get a doctor to examine his hand and that she would see him at the party that night.

Whilst this was going on, however, Kratos only glared daggers at the boy. He didn't like him one bit, there was a chilling air about him and Kratos knew that this young man had yet to reveal his true colours to Saphira...he didn't like this young man at all, he seemed just a tad devious to him.

He kept his hand threateningly pressed to his sword's handle and his fingers twitched as he kept all instincts at bay to drive this whelp off.

Kratos watched venomously as Stryker hobbled away, a darkening glint shining in his copper/crimson eyes. His burgundy hair bristled in the breeze that left a faint whistling in the air in a similar manner the wind brushed against his noble cape.

When the boy was out of the picture, Saphira shot a very dark glare to her grandfather as if she knew exactly what was going through his mind when he started to crush her boyfriend's fingers into powder.

Kratos shot a confused look at her right back, completely oblivious that he had done something to anger her "...What?"

Saphira looked at her grandfather for a long time before she rolled her eyes whilst shaking her head. She should have known that her grandfather should be like this, when it came to her and boy's he was as bad as her father was. He couldn't stand the thought of her being around boy's either, he always threatened to exterminate every young male with a swift swipe of his twin blades. She could see that he wanted to chop down every boy within a one mile radius.

It was like the only boys good for her were always peeking her shoulder at everything she did and it was irritating.

Face palming, the young teen in red slowly started to walk away "I'll see you tonight."

And off she went, unaware of the very fact that she was about to be plunged into a living nightmare which would be her birthday party. She slowly wandered off in a deep sulk as she stormed off, leaving her confused grandfather behind in the clearing.

She could feel her soul twisting and tightening as she glanced down at the back of her right hand, noticing a faint glowing of her birthmark which was hidden right underneath it. She put her other hand over it to try and disguise its glowing, praying with everything she had that it wouldn't completely humiliate her at her birthday party.

* * *

**A/N: We get the real thing started now! We get a taste of Kratos being an overprotective grandfather and next we see how the birthday party plays out...and I guess you can figure out how it will go. **

**Kratos is very suspicious of Stryker and as is Lloyd, it seems. We shall see in the next chapter.**

**Please review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	7. Birthday bash pt 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

"Please hold still, baby, we're almost done!" Collete exclaimed to her fidgeting young daughter squirming, putting the finishing touches on the young teen's hair.

For about twenty minutes, she had been working ruthlessly to try and get her daughter's split ends to go down but she was met by lots of resistance.

Saphira moaned in frustration as her mother continued to brush her hair with long rough strokes. She HATED having anyone -except herself- touching her velvety long locks of brown hair.

The daughter of the master swordsman and Chosen of mana strongly hated that she was having to wear such a stupid dress with a probable tiara on her head, her cheeks were almost covered with makeup and she wore a pretty long dress that she guessed was a periwinkle blue or something cliché with a deep sea naval blue lacing and she wore matching shoes.

Her gaze was forlorn and absent, her frown making up a lot of her expression as she looked down worriedly at the mark on the back of her hand. Saphira had this scar for as long as her memories could exist, she didn't know why she had it or why it would glow whenever she would feel an emotion like sadness, grief or despair or even stress but she did know that she had to keep it a secret from everyone except those in her family.

Colette noticed her daughter's silence and wore her own frown. Her eyes were full of concern as she ceased brushing her daughter's hair and followed the fourteen-year-old's gaze back down to her hand.

The chosen of mana frowned even further when she knew what her daughter was so afraid of.

"Saphira...are you nervous about your birthmark?" She asked.

Saphira didn't say anything but she gave a brusque nod of the head.

She continued tracing her hand mark with her eyes as she had her beautiful sapphire blue gems glazed over with anxiety, something she could do all day should she have been left alone for once even though both her mother and father insisted on being so close that they were breathing down her neck.

She REALLY hoped that her birthmark wouldn't react during her party and it was not only because it would cause intense contracting to the muscles of her hand just underneath the mark, but it was also because she had a feeling everybody would hate her if they found out.

Colette sighed before putting the hairbrush down on the table and wrapping her arms around her daughter's shoulders as if to comfort her.

"Don't worry, sweetie, if you just keep calm and don't get scared or anything then you should be just fine." She exclaimed through a widening smile, letting Saphira absorb her body heat as she hugged her so tight that she was inadvertently making all the blood in her body go to her head.

The fourteen year old clawed at her throat, wheezing for oxygen, as she exclaimed to her mother before she died of suffocation with her eyes bugging out "Mother, I can't breathe!"

Colette realised that she was accidentally strangling her daughter and pulled away to give her some air as she watched with a apologetic smile. She didn't mean to hug Saphira so hard, she just couldn't believe that a whole fourteen years had gone by now. It felt like only yesterday when she was cradling her tiny baby for the very first time, it was true what they say: "they grow up so fast".

The woman pulled away and looked at Saphira with big adoring eyes "Sorry...I just can't believe how big you've gotten...I-I..."

Colette started sobbing, her eyes filling up with tears as she tried her best not to cry now. But she was failing that task miserably.

So, not being able to see her mother cry, Saphira stood up whilst rolling her eyes and she walked over to the Chosen of mana "Oh, mother..."

She wrapped her arms a bit around Colette and hugged her to try and make her stop crying as she felt a bit awkward about this.

It took a few moments until Colette had readjusted and regained her composure and she wore the most proudest smile a parent could wear as she exchanged a warm and cozy smile with her daughter.

Saphira felt like she was warm and protected by her parents whom she knew adored her very much and, whenever they were around, she knew she would never truly feel alone. There was no way she would tell anybody about these feelings, not even Stryker, as she disliked being sentimental.

Colette slowly stepped forwards, a small white flower held in her hands, and she slowly put the object into place among the right side of her head as it clipped into her hair and (if it were physically possible) she smiled even wider.

The half-angel softly whirled Saphira on her feet so she could stare at her reflection in the mirror and, Saphira let out a gasp of surprise as she saw what she looked like for this evening.

She wore a flower circlet on her crown with a small Lilly corsage stuck in her hair. Her dress was a long velvet ebony gown with a little white cardigan worn atop it and it looked to be hand-stiched. It was long enough to reach her ankles and, speaking of feet, she also noticed that she wore a pair of shoes which were quite nice on her feet.

"Wow, mama...I look..." She was too in awe for words. Saphira thought that she was going to look incredibly frivolous for this stupid dance party and, much to her surprise, she did look girly but she also felt like herself. It was a mix of being girly and being who she was. She couldn't describe it, she actually felt quite...beautiful and in a meaning which referred to within and without her.

"Absolutely amazing, Saffy..." A voice finished.

Saphira turned on her feet and as did Colette. They grinned when they saw Lloyd standing by the door with a small sneaky smirk on his face as he raised a brow at his two girls.

For the special occasion, Lloyd wore a red formal shirt, complete with brass buttons, with some Epaulettes stuck on his shoulders. A scarlet cape was worn around his neck. There was no signs of any sword holsters in his belt like normal and his trousers were black and velvet as there were some little buttons near the trouser sleeves to help them fit correctly as he stood with black polished shoes stuck to his feet.

His hair was even spikier than normal as if combed and then bristled finely just for the occasion.

He tugged at his sleeves before heading into the room and he smiled warmly at his daughter's reflection in the mirror. Lloyd softly patted Saphira's shoulder and he could see the fourteen year old's mischievous smirk become directed at him as he looked at the mirror.

Saphira smirked as she asked "So, papa, what are you doing in here?"

Lloyd looked surprised for a moment. What, couldn't a father come and see his daughter on her birthday just before a special dance?

But then he realised what the girl was doing and he couldn't help but let out a little chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders "Oh, I was just getting something ready for my baby girl. Now close your eyes."

Saphira was confused. Why did she have to close her eyes? She cocked her head a little in confusion but obeyed her orders and squeezed her eyes shut tight so she wouldn't be tempted to open them should they accidentally flutter open and accidently grab a peak of whatever her father didn't wish for her to see.

Knowing his eyes were closed and he had his wife observing this, Lloyd smirked wryly as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a certain beautiful gemstone necklace which was now completed.

The sapphire necklace gleamed in the faint glow of candlelight and slowly started to move so he could stand behind her and he held the chain of the necklace apart whilst he carefully tried to click the necklace around his daughter's beautiful neck.

After fiddling with the necklace he had made for a whole minute and a half, Lloyd successfully clipped the pendant so it was dangling around her neck.

Now the swordsman wasn't much for patting himself on the back but he had a feeling that the necklace would fit so perfectly.

He smirked to himself with pride as he held his daughter's shoulder, lightly giving it a pat as he smiled even wider at Saphira's reflection.

Colette gasped in awe as she saw how beautiful the necklace was as it dangled around their daughter's neck.

"Ok," The red-wearing guardian spoke "now open them up."

Saphira's eyes fluttered open and she looked into her reflection. She examined every inch of her body and found nothing had changed...except that there was jewel dangling around her neck and it was kind of nice since it matched her eyes.

She examined the pendant, her jaw open whilst she frowned, and she noticed that it had some fine craftsmanship and whoever made it had put a lot of care into creating this.

Her heart was bursting with joy, although she hated kisses and loved to use swords that didn't mean she disliked other girly things.

Her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes tearful. She knew she looked pathetic but she didn't really care. She never knew her father to have created such precious things.

"O-Oh...papa...I...I love it!"

Suddenly, in one fluid movement, Saphira turned on her heels and tossed herself at her father who was taken aback by this sudden embrace. Lloyd wore a shocked expression for several moments as he was deciding on whether or not to hug his child back and he even looked to Colette who looked extremely joyful upon seeing this wonderful scene unfold.

The moment was ruined, though, as Saphira suddenly pulled away and pretended that didn't happen.

She gave her father a dry-humoured glare but smiled just a hint as she gave him a small nod of the head "...Its an okay gift, I suppose."

Lloyd knew that the teen was just saying that and was trying to hide the fact that she really liked it but just didn't want to look like a fool. He disliked that she was hiding who she really was just for the sake of wanting to be like other teenagers but, then again, he supposed that is just how some teenagers act nowadays.

Colette sensed a small amount of tension and suddenly clapped her hands together with a smile "Alright, let's get this started!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.

* * *

Lloyd had his strong arm laced around Saphira's as he led her out the door of their under exaggerated little home in Iselia. Lloyd could clearly recall how both he and Colette had wished for their child to be born and raised in the same village they grew up in together so decided to make their home back there after the initial adventures of the Exspheres had finally finished.

Of course, Lloyd was still mystified as he somehow came to discover that some of the Exspheres he had been searching for had disappeared off the face of the planet. He just couldn't find them anywhere be it high or low and that brought him major frustration to no end.

He could still feel a small sizzling rage burn at the back of his mind when he thought back to it, he had promised Kratos he would retrieve them all and he found that a select few of them had completely vanished into nothing.

"Papa, are you alright?"

Hearing Saphira's voice had brought Lloyd caused his train of thought to crash and burn and he looked right at the confused young girl whom had concern written all over her face as she carefully threaded along the floors of their home whilst they headed out the door.

Lloyd smiled a bit and nodded to try and assure her, only to get a expression from her that said "I don't believe you" and the girl he was escorting only glared at him with a raised brow as she frowned.

Lloyd stiffened when he knew that Saphira was on to him but, when she opened her mouth to argue her point, a certain young boy had come out to meet them.

Upon seeing the snake in disguise, Lloyd instinctively tightened his hold on Saphira's hand but he was very wary of the gloves she wore that she wore to hide her birth mark.

He grit his teeth and scowled at Stryker, his eyes filled with this burning hostility as he felt his back arch and quake as he felt a chill run down his spinal cord. Lloyd deeply despised this boy but he didn't know why.

"Hello, Stryker!" Saphira exclaimed, ignorant of her father's seething as she managed to weaken her father's seriously tight grip on her wrist. She broke out of the sword master's hold, much to his dismay, and she high-fived the boy the whilst she smiled happily. Lloyd could see such an innocence shimmering in his child's eyes and it broke his heart to see that innocence shimmer like a bright light shining in a pitch black labyrinth.

One wrong move made by this guy would shatter her heart forever, he could sense it.

"Hello again, babe." Stryker smiled at Saphira but in a venomous manner. She picked up the teen and spun her around in the air and thus earning a squeal of delight from her as she was spinning around and around. Lloyd's face dropped as he noticed a very sinister grin coming over his face as he continued to spin her.

Oh, how he wished Saphira would open her eyes and see this rattlesnake...

Stryker put the young girl down on her feet and slowly snaked his hand on the back of her head and started to caress it in a somewhat rough manner. Lloyd could basically feel his fatherly instincts overwhelm him when this young man had decided to raise his ire even further by smirking devilishly at him.

Lloyd didn't know why this boy was behaving in such a way, especially towards his lover's father, but it seemed like he knew that the swordsman had no power in this situation and started to mock him for it by doing these things to his precious baby girl.

Fortunately for Lloyd, Saphira gripped on to Stryker's shoulders and decided to end this as she smiled obliviously at him whilst gripping her hand in his when her normal hand slid down from her boyfriend's shoulder to his hand and her fingers intertwined with his.

Lloyd felt serious alarm bells go off in his head as he saw his baby holding this guy's hand and he wanted to explode like a volcano. But he couldn't on his daughter's birthday...

"Come now, Stryky! Let's go and get to the party..." She said, her voice dropping a bit upon mentioning the party.

She even used an admittedly cute nickname for the brat and led him away from there whilst waving goodbye to Lloyd, to which he responded by waving back at her and forcing a toothy grin. His smile fell and all hints of chivalry he put on was replaced with a fiery hot anger when he watched that creep and his baby walk off into the distance.

While they walked off and weren't very far, Stryker wrapped his arm around Saphira and smirked at the girl's father in a very devilish manner.

It was as if that boy was trying to irk him and Lloyd could feel a red mist blind him as he held his hand over his sword which he had hidden in his cape. He grit his teeth, baring them whilst he narrowed his eyes into slits of fiery demonic anger at the young man who then started to promptly led his baby girl away into the distance.

"...I can make it look like an accident, I know I can..." He muttered with an evil smirk, a crimson blood glow surrounding him as he was seething with anger that his precious child was going out with some creep who seemed to know exactly how to get girls to side with him.

He hated that boy so much, he knew it would be so incredibly easy to slice his head clean off with his sword but he also knew that not only would he more than likely be locked out of his and Colette's bedroom and banished from the house for awhile but Saphira would more than likely never forgive him.

It was then that Genis walked up to his friend and saw that dark look on his face as he watched both his daughter and her boyfriend leave. The half-elf simply sighed to himself and observed as the swordsman mumbled death threats about said boyfriend.

Genis gripped Lloyd's ear tightly and yanked him as he started to pull him off into the direction the couple had gone a few minutes earlier. Lloyd yelped as the half-elf dragged him off and he started to think where on earth Genis had sprung forth from. However he couldn't help but sigh angrily when he realised that he was going to have to live with this, probably.

"Lloyd, if you could stop planning your murder spree for just a few hours then I think we'd all appreciate it." He said with annoyance lacing his very tone.

Lloyd yelped again upon receiving another sharp pull on the ear but he didn't care much for the pain anymore. His and Kratos' suspicions of that boy was proven correct now and he had a small hunch that the slimy piece of filth was planning something and even though he didn't know what it was, he didn't like it one bit.

He had to do something, but what?

* * *

**A/N: Oh no. **

**Daddy Lloyd is angry and now someone had better watch out or get sliced in half without mercy! Now we have to see what happens next at this party or else wait for the suspense of Lloyd and Kratos trying to get Saphira away from that boy.**

**I'm glad my writings improved and I'm glad I'm doing better with this story. I also have to thank Afrododestinyfan for that nice review, and I shall try updating very soon.**

**Thanks and please review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	8. Birthday bash pt 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

The party was magnificent.

It had been held in the main dining hall of Iselia and pretty much all of Sylvarant were in rejoice as they sent their blessings to the young daughter of the Chosen of mana and the young swords master known as Lloyd.

Paragons of each town had decided to come to the party to bless others with their presence and even give some words of advice to young Saphira.

Indeed, some guests had the greatest of intentions...others did not.

Lloyd sat by the door, watching with a lax smile on his face. He took a small swig of wine that had filled his cup up to the brim and he kept a very careful vigil on the party, making sure that the proceedings were going well and to make sure there wasn't anyone suspicious coming to crash his girl's party.

He could feel an uneasy feeling in his chest and Genis' words of warning earlier kept nagging at him; he just couldn't keep it out of his mind.

It felt like an oppression in his chest and he felt his fatherly instincts tingle. He knew that something wasn't right somehow and besides, it was the exact same feeling of dread he had when his daughter was three years old and he had to save Colette from attackers.

However, he knew he couldn't brood during his little girl's special day so he decided to try and ignore it. He smiled a bit when he saw certain familiar faces mingling with the sea of people who came flooding through the walnut doors.

Amongst the crowd were Zelos, Sheena, Presea, Regal and even Marta.

Lloyd shook friendlily firm hands with all of them as they walked in, wearing a very joyful grin as they each went over towards the table where a mountain of gifts piled up on top of each other. Each of the old team members set their gifts down and proceeded to mingle with other guests of the party.

"Hey, Lloyd! Nice party!" Zelos grinned.

Lloyd nodded in appreciation "Thanks. I just hope my baby girl loves it."

Zelos winked at the worried father but, before he could even utter a word, Sheena stepped in and assured "Saphira will love this, I don't doubt that for a second!"

"Speaking of whom, where is the cutie-pie of a birthday girl? Is she with that gorgeous little angel honey-bunny?"

Lloyd felt his muscles tense up and his smiling face turn into a darkening scowl. He knew that the obnoxious chosen of Tethe'alla was referring to HIS wife, Colette, and he strongly felt very protective of her. Why did he have to flirt with his wife? He was always strongly defensive over his girls and he didn't need an extra boy going after them.

Fortunately for him it was then that Sheena decided to intervene.

Grabbing the man by the cheek, Sheena glared angrily at him and snarled as she dragged him away for a "pep talk" and she vanished into the ocean of people as she told Zelos furiously "Back off you freak, Colette is Lloyd's wife! Don't even think about going after her!"

Zelos whined and whinged like a frightened puppy as he was being dragged off by the female summoner who wore plenty of purple. Sheena continued to lead the dude away by the ear as she disappeared into the crowd of guests and family and friends.

The Sage siblings even decided to lead the party of their old group to a batch of tables so they could not only treat themselves at this party by enticing their taste buds but also so they could mingle if they wished to.

Lloyd stood by the door still with a grin. Nostalgia engulfed his heart and was like a knife in his back as he couldn't help but recall the good old days where he and the team were on their multiple journeys across both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.

He was in deep thought about it whence he felt something soft touch against his cheek and he blinked to wake himself back to reality.

He smiled adoringly upon seeing that Colette had walked up to him and gave him a very soft kiss on his cheek and it even made him look up in surprise. His expression of shock melted into a smile of affection as his eyelids drooped a bit as if to paint a dreamy expression on his face.

It was then that the music changed from jovial to a slower tempo -one that two special someones could slow dance to. It was calm and soothing and it was actually kind of romantic, but, then again, what would you expect from a ball?

Lloyd recognised this as his chance; he had to seize it!

The master general swordsman gave a quick shake of the head to snap himself out of it as he recomposed himself and started to softly sway in time with the music, the first move being captured in his head as he hoped it wouldn't be too awkward.

He swallowed and cleared his throat to get rid of any obstructions that may leave his words to get tangled in his larynx, deciding to try and be as smooth as possible.

He bowed very slightly, smiling gently, as he held his hand out towards her as if expecting her to take it. He made sure to bow very elegantly as if to try and not make himself look like an idiot, he didn't wish for this moment to be ruined.

Colette seemed surprised as she stared at the hand held out towards her.

"Colette, would you care for a dance?" Lloyd asked, somehow maintaining a gentlemanly composure.

Colette smiled warmly and performed a polite curtsy, crossing her legs and grabbing each of the corners of her gown so she could pull them up very slightly whilst she lowered her stance for several seconds which was preceded by rectifying her posture and standing up straight once more.

"O-Of course I would. I'm a bit worried I would step on your feet, though..." She admitted.

Lloyd chuckled light-heartedly whilst winking at her mischievously "Don't worry, you doofus, if you fall I'll catch you."

Colette giggled and reluctantly took Lloyd's hand into her own.

Hand-in-hand, Lloyd and Colette both started to walk off towards the dance floor. However they were blissfully unaware that the joyful mood was about to take a very heavy nosedive into catastrophe.

* * *

"Stryker! Stryker! Are you up here?" Saphira called out, running out on to a higher level of the rooftops as she basked under the gentle moonlit skies hanging overhead.

She loved how the chills of night breezed against her face and tussled her long chocolate brown locks. Her slightly tanned skin was embraced pin the comforting cool moisture-laden air and she couldn't help but stare blankly into the evening night sky hanging over her head right now.

She had completely forgotten about the reason she came up here whilst she stared at the evening night skies.

But then she jumped when she heard a familiar someones voice.

"Hey again, babe."

Saphira almost leapt out of her skin from fright as she whirled on her feet and met face-to-face with the young man that she had called her boyfriend. She gave a sheepish grin as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked away momentarily to try and hide the fact that her cheeks were turning a dark shade of scarlet.

Chuckling nervously, the young lady looked back at the young man when the heat of her cheeks dissipated and she smiled.

Stryker had been the centre of her love life since he had first asked her out. She recalled it as if it were yesterday, the beautiful field laying under the nighttime skies and the cacophonous sounds of rustling branches and leaves harmonising with the soothing atmosphere which had flowed like a clear river in a peaceful little forest creak.

All while both her and her lover stood in the field face-to-face...it was so enchanting.

"So, babe, how'd you wanna celebrate your birthday with a passionate embrace?" Stryker asked seductively.

Saphira nodded whilst grinning from ear-to-ear, her eyes lighting up so bright that they were akin to the twinkling stars in the sky above.

She laced her arm around the young man's awaiting one and she was being led away towards the very centre of the rooftop that they were standing on.

However, as the lad led her to the very middle of the roof, the fourteen-year-old felt something was amiss here; like there was a trap awaiting her. She almost felt afraid right now and it was a feeling that made her heart pound in her chest as if it were trying to warn her.

Saphira tried to ignore this oppression in her chest but she couldn't, something was wrong here...

Stryker softly pulled Saphira towards him and pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss.

Saphira felt her heart drum in her chest as the young man she loved kissed her aggressively and he even grabbed on tightly to the front of her dress as if to prevent her from pulling back, frightening her a bit, and it was then she felt something she really dreaded.

Something grabbing at the wrist of her right hand.

Her mind squealed for her to know who was gripping her birthmark hand and why as she tried to push herself away from Stryker but the grip on her wrist was very strong. While she got herself slightly distanced from the young man, she was horrified to discover that he had whipped off her silk gloves and made thus exposing her hand in the naked moonlight.

Stryker smirked darkly and tightened his grip on Saphira's wrist as three other boy's came out of hiding as they approached Stryker from behind.

They wore evil smiles too.

The young girl was confused and frightened. What was going on here?

"Look here, guys! Turns out the rumours were true!" Stryker turned to face the boy's behind him with a sadistic smirk twisting on his lips.

He still gripped on tight to her wrist whilst he wore the most grim smirk imaginable, it was a smirk that made Saphira begin to panic as she felt her voice abandon her completely as she stared at her lover with eyes filled with horror.

"S-Stryker...? What're you-!?" She started to ask, only to have been shoved forcefully to the ground.

Saphira swallowed and frowned as she tried to register what was happening. She didn't understand what was going on here, she was lost the second Stryker had tore her glove off her hand and she started to feel her chest cave in against her lungs as if to prevent her from breathing.

Stryker sniggered evilly, it was a laugh which made an acute quivering sensation trickle down her spine.

All attributes which had captivated her were all starting to melt away and reveal what monster he truly was under those charming features. Saphira started to grow scared, fear building up in her heart, and she bit her lower lip as the pieces of what were happening were beginning to click into place.

She didn't want to believe it, though.

Before she could ask and confirm her thoughts, Stryker had answered for her whilst gripping on tighter to the young 14-year-old's wrist and a dark look seeped into his eyes and made Saphira see him much like one would see a devilish figure who loomed over her, towering over her like she was an ant while he was a building.

"You really thought that I liked you, you fool? All I wanted to do was see if the rumours were true and see what kind of freak you really were."

Saphira was taken aback, feeling like her heart was run through with a razor sharp sword. She could hardly breathe, her eyes were wide and tears were blurring her vision as she tried to make her voice work and not choke against her own words. She couldn't stop looking at Stryker as her whole face was filled with betrayal and humiliation.

She leapt to her feet and slipped her wrist out of her ex-boyfriend's tight grasp.

"Well we know you're a freak and therefore, you are a threat to all of Sylvarant. You should know what happens to freaks like you..." Stryker sneered, rolling his fist into a ball as he bashed it against his open palm whilst he prepared to beat the fourteen-year-old into submission.

Her face full of despair, Saphira slowly backed off from the boy she loved and his friends and she couldn't help but feel trapped.

The daughter of Lloyd and Colette grit her teeth as she tried to prevent tears from streaming down her cheeks but, regardless, she was dimly aware that her hand mark started to clench at the back of her hand and a big glow of magenta had started to give out a very exaggerated amount of light.

She reopened her eyes, revealing to the group that they no longer contained any pupils or anything but they had this blindingly white glow that looked somehow full of despair.

Stryker and the boy's froze in terror upon seeing such a look of rage on her face and they started to grow increasingly more scared as the girl's hand mark started to glow a harsh red light which seemed to engulf the air around them.

Wisely, the trio hightailed it away from Saphira as her hand kept glowing and her eyes remained expressionless and glowing blindingly white with tears continuing to meander down her blanching cheeks, the makeup she wore becoming smeared thanks to her tears.

She couldn't see anything nor control herself, all she could basically do was vaguely feel her emotions seep inside and curl up into a ball, her personality and everything else laying dormant within her until someone had decided to snapped her out of her senses.

She was becoming vaguely aware of the powerful swirling vortex that started to spiral around her with hurricane force.

She didn't even know what was going on anymore as she started to become lost in the emotions she felt slowly wash away as her sub-conscience was starting to vanish and leave a husk of her former self.

Saphira was not even fully aware when she sensed someone's presence, someone who somehow managed to hold the friction of their feet to the ground beneath them in the face of so much power.

"S-Saphira! Saffy! It's us! You gotta come back to us!" Lloyd's voice exclaimed, trying to be heard over the tube of rushing wind that was encasing her whole body like a cacoon as she stood there, motionless, but with tears continuing to stream down her face.

Colette's voice yelled next "Baby, I know what that boy did to you was unforgivable but please! Don't take it out on the village!"

Saphira's conscience knew all too well that her mother was correct. She couldn't take it out on the village, that just wasn't right...but she was consumed by grief and anger. She couldn't feel much or hear much else, her heart was painfully throbbing as if it too were trying to console her. Each thump of her own heart echoed painfully, droning on in the background.

She tried to communicate her pain and anguish to her parents but she could not, her conscience was constantly being buried by her emotions. She couldn't do a thing! But then she felt the very vague pressure of someone touching each of her shoulders. Saphira focused on that touch, trying to snap herself out of her state of paralysis as she concentrated on that touch.

Saphira heard her mother's voice again "Saphira, please! I-I know what you're going through...I do! You feel like you can't do anything even though you try your very hardest, it's what I felt when I went through turning into an angel! But you can fight it, I know you can!"

Saphira then started to feel the familiar sensation of two different arms coiling themselves around her shoulders and enveloping her in a snug embrace.

She didn't even know whether her parents were just dumb for doing this or just supremely brave, either way she didn't care as she finally let her eyes surrender to the urge to close them as she storm started to diminish into nothing as the air surrounding her stopped spinning in a rushing spiral.

She knew that her mother and father were hugging her whilst trying to comfort her but that didn't change what she nearly did.

Saphira, sobbing, peeled herself away from her parents and stood as still as a gravestone.

She panted tiredly as she still tried to get over the fact that she had just lost herself to some strange mythical power that somehow came from her birthmark. She cast a momentary glance down to it, noticing that it was still glowing a bright magenta, and then looked back at her parents who both seemed shocked.

Lloyd and Colette stood there with their mouthes wide open with their jaws slack. Their eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets as they looked at her as if they were seeing her for the very first time.

It was a very unsettling expression they wore on their faces and it made Saphira's eyes well up with tears as she found herself grow short of breath.

What had she done...?

Saphira started to hyperventilate out of despair and she hid her eyes with a sleeve as she squeaked "Mama, P-Papa, I-I-I'm sorry...!"

Without saying another word, Saphira darted down the stairs as fast as she could and she ran so quick that she was but a blur to her parents who had only got a grip on reality when they saw their little girl fleeing.

Lloyd cried out, his eyes wide "Saphira, come back!"

But his calls fell on deaf ears as the slam of a pair of double doors downstairs pierced the otherwise eerily quiet air.

Both Colette and Lloyd couldn't believe what had just happened but they both knew what awaited them when they got downstairs and they didn't want to face it...yet, they knew they had no choice but to.

Lloyd and Colette slowly started to walk back down the stairs and back to the ballroom which would more than likely be filled with confused and panicky folk. The priests and mayor were especially a problem since neither heroes could predict exactly what would happen when they got down there.

What they did know, though, was that it would be chaotic but they had to find their daughter...and fast!

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took awhile to update, guys, I have been in hospital with a horrid tummy ache and I still am. **

**I'm just having trouble writing and updating right now because of said tummy ache and I hope you forgive me for it. Please forgive me, I don't mean to be horrible by keeping you all waiting.**

**Anyways, it seems that Saphira had her heart broken by Stryker. Lloyd and Kratos will probably slice him into ribbons now...**

**Lets see what happens next.**

**Please review.**

**-Chloemcg**


	9. Birthday bash pt 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Tales of Symphonia, I only own Saphira really. There might be a handful of new characters later on and, if you do not recognise them, then they belong to me.**

**Eyes of a jewel.**

* * *

"What happened!?" The mayor demanded, his eyes narrowing into slits as he looked directly at Stryker as if expecting him to provide an answer as to what just transpired.

It had only been a few minutes since Saphira had abandoned the party when the power of her birthmark had made itself known and her feelings had been used. A big commotion had since broken out and left everyone confused and perplexed about the goings on.

Unfortunately, though, there were some people who weren't very pleased about the current circumstances...like the mayor.

The boy stammered fearfully "I-It was that Irving girl! S-She's got a very odd symbol on the back of her hand!"

Everyone, including Lloyd and Collete and everyone else, gasped in shock upon hearing this news. Whilst the townsfolk had gasped over the fact that the rumours rang with some truth, the group of heroes had simply just couldn't get over what was happening now. Poor Saphira had been found out because of some boy who had toyed with her emotions before tossing her away when he found her out.

Everyone watched as the mayor snarled angrily, his brows knitting together out of frustration.

"Arrrgh! I knew that child was trouble from the moment I laid my eyes on her, that brat is a menace and a danger!" He declared angrily, feeling like he had been lied to.

Lloyd's eyes narrowed as he grit his teeth, he stood as still as a statue and his blood went cold. He tried to let this sink into his mind, the gears in his head coming to an abrupt halt as a pang of disbelief had hit him with brutal force. What did the mayor just call his daughter, did he seriously just call her a menace? His beloved little baby girl? a menace!? He couldn't believe it, he refused to believe it!

He would have none of this as long as he kept breathing.

"What did you just say!?" The swordsman demanded, standing up to the mayor whilst he clenched his fists. He wouldn't have anyone bad mouth his little girl if he had anything to say about it!

The mayor repeated angrily "That child could doom us all as long as she has that mark, for all we know she could kill us all; we seen what she is capable of!"

Lloyd wasn't having any of this and snapped, grabbing the handles of his swords and getting ready to unsheathe them "Its not her fault, she was born with it! So don't you DARE blame her for something she can't control!"

The mayor was starting to go red in the face as he and Lloyd started their little shouting contest to see who could yell the loudest. The older man reached over and gripped on tight to the spiky-haired hero's collar and pressed his nose against the mayor's as he glared blood-coated daggers into the other man's eyes.

The mayor sneered with his voice colder than an arctic wind "But nothing! That child would put us all in imminent danger, she should leave right away because that she is a freak!"

That did it! Lloyd didn't think his rage could go any higher but it did. He felt an almost irresistible urge to pull out his blades and slash this man into tiny pieces, and he could swear that his throat was painfully throbbing and his eyes were tightly narrowed. He opened his mouth to let out a retort before a sudden voice called out and intervened before any blood could be shed.

"STOP IT!"

Lloyd and the mayor both turned to face the owner of the voice and were shocked to see that Colette had broken up the argument and she took on a strong posture whilst she glared hard at the two men. Her angel wings bristled with anger, her usually soft-spoken voice was overruled by a thick sternness as she glared at her husband and her eyes were filled with shocking rage.

"Lloyd Irving! You shouldn't start a fight right now since our daughter needs us to be calm, try and control your temper!" Then the woman turned her focus on the mayor "And Mr. Mayor! I know you're stressed but that was completely uncalled for and I should hope for your sake that you wouldn't insult my baby girl again!"

The two men were stunned into utter silence when they heard the Chosen of mana use such a tone. In all these years they had never heard the meek and innocent girl speak with such sternness in her tone, well...maybe except when she was cross with Lloyd or trying to discipline their daughter. Clearly Colette had grown a backbone!

Nevertheless, Lloyd and the mayor both looked down ashamed as if they were two children being scolded by their mother; the age lines in the mayor's face sagged as he started to simmer down from the steaming argument he had just had with the swordsman and all was disturbingly silent.

Not a word was spoken, not a sound was made and even though this was supposed to be a cheerful event a morbid silence of dread had filled the whole entire village hall and everyone inside just didn't know what to do now. Even the guests whom bothered to stay behind after that literal storm of emotions that Saphira had given off, none had dared to make a sound.

Suddenly, however, Sheena stepped forwards and glanced over at Lloyd whose grief was utterly visible on his face, heck the worry was basically swimming in his deep mud brown pools!

"Don't worry, Lloyd, Saphira couldn't have gotten far." She assured, resting a firm hand on Lloyd's rigid shoulder.

She could feel how tight his muscles were from worry and stress of his one and only daughter running off like this and while she didn't understand his feelings completely, she understood a little bit of it. The comfort didn't seem to lift Lloyd's worry at all but he did shift his rage when the boy behind this all had come into his sight.

Nobody even had time to blink before Lloyd stood face-to-face with the young man!

"L-Lloyd! Get off of him!" Colette cried out.

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, though, as Lloyd unsheathed one of his swords and held the blade just inches away from the jugular vein on Stryker's neck, his eyes were now twisted and animalistic as he wore the most evil of smirks. Everyone could see that he was enjoying every second of watching this pathetic whelp of a young man squirm in his fist now Saphira wasn't preventing him from crushing him into dust.

Lloyd never really was a murderer but when it came to his daughter, he would blow people off the face of the earth if it would assure her wellbeing. The swordsman spoke in a low whisper of a tone that actually made everyone's spine tremble as an uncomfortable shiver trickled through their bloodstreams.

"Now you sneaky little weasel, if I EVER see you within a mile radius from my daughter again then I will dedicate the rest of my life to cutting you into so many pieces that nobody would be able to recognise your disembodied carcass..."

It was blatantly obvious that what Stryker did had warranted a lot of rage from the famous Lloyd Irving; the rage that blazed in the man's deep brown eyes were proof that he was not bluffing when he spoke this threat and wouldn't hesitate to make good on it should the teen put another toe out of line.

Stryker swallowed whilst nodding feverishly, not daring to move out of fear what the enraged father would do. He had seriously unleashed the wrath of the master swordsman and he was certainly not willing to push his luck any further than he already had done.

Lloyd begrudgingly slid his fingers away from the younger man's throat and holstered his twin swords once more, the sound of the metal sliding into their rightful places had created a soft yet gentle cacophony whilst he tried to ignore the irksome young man who had dared humiliated his child and prevent losing his temper again and actually maiming him.

Upon giving a brief glance to the remaining guests, he noticed that they looked stunned and terrified at the same time. Their eyes couldn't have been any wider and their jaws were hitting the floor below them.

Lloyd awkwardly cleared his throat and looked over at his wife and friends whom had all stood in a line. His eyes were trained on the group and he smiled just a hint when he had been reminded of how lucky he was to be surrounded by people who loved him so much and were willing to assist with the search.

Lloyd felt pride swell in his chest as he stood firm and he even cleared his throat so he could ready himself to speak. He opened his mouth to announce that they began their search for the birthday girl before he noticed something was seriously off with Colette.

She looked very pale all of a sudden.

The former chosen of mana let out a soft groan as she started to sway on her feet as if dizzy. Her bright blue eyes had quickly become dull and all the emotion had left her face like old dry paint peeling off a wall. Her breathing had also apparently gone ragged and panicky and before anybody could blink, Colette's legs had given up right under her as she fell towards the floor.

Colette was quickly meeting the floor but her husband had managed to react quickly and caught her just before she could hit the ground.

"Colette!" Genis exclaimed with panic.

"Colette! Are you feeling alright?" Lloyd asked quickly, cradling his wife in his arms as she laid in his strong embrace.

Colette squeezed her eyes shut in obvious pain and managed to force out a weakened giggle and smiled feebly "Y-Yes...I'm fine..."

Lloyd just looked at his wife with hardened eyes. He knew that she was lying and it was plainly obvious; she had a tendency to giggle nervously when she wasn't speaking the truth and nobody knew this better than Lloyd himself, it was the same thing when he discovered that Colette couldn't feel pain anymore just when she was transforming into an angel several years ago.

He ignored her lie and asked "What happened?"

Colette frowned and knew that she wasn't fooling anyone, but still she insisted that she was fine and that little episode was merely from the stress of all that had happened tonight. She felt her husband's arms furl tighter around her when she tried to move and get up to prove her point although she was forced to relent since she knew that she couldn't break free that easily.

"It's nothing, really!" She insisted.

Lloyd then proceeded to give her a long hard look. It was a stare he would use on his wife if she told a fib and somehow looking at her like that was quite unnerving to her and if she kept any secrets from him, she wouldn't be able to keep them in for very long. His eyes were hard -nearly rock solid- and his eyebrows were as tight as his frown. His messy brown hair bristled with the furrowing of his brows and he stared silently at her, watching as his wife finally started to get creeped out.

Her eyes darted around wildly and she started to shiver a bit. Clearly she was beginning to falter. Didn't take too much longer until she finally let out a sigh of defeat and gave a little crooked grin.

"...Alright, Lloyd, alright. You win." She looked down "I actually don't know what happened but I think I had some sort of vision?"

Genis was intrigued and shocked about this and he knelt down to look at her and ask her a little more on the matter, his eyes filled with intellectual innocence were clouded over with the purest form of curiosity. The half-elf pushed Lloyd aside, letting Colette slip from his hold and enabling her to sit up independently as she let him look her over.

"A vision?" He repeated, grabbing her hand and probing it gingerly "What kind of vision?"

Colette looked down for a split moment as if trying to recall what exactly she seen during those crazy few moments and she seemed very thoughtful, until she let out a gasp of horror and tears started to fill up in her eyes.

She grew emotional within the blink of an eye and her trembling voice was testament to how she was feeling now, she appeared to be trapped within an emotional ball mixed with despair and sickening worry.

Of course this reaction to an alleged vision didn't go without worry from the rest of the group. A shocked Genis had retreated back from the distraught Angel and let Sheena, Marta and Raine handle her sudden emotional outburst. The girls knelt down on either side of her. Sheena was on the left side, rubbing the poor mother's back, whilst Raine and Marta sat on the right and doing what they could.

Sheena, whilst wearing a concerned expression on her face, asked in the softest voice possible "Please calm yourself, Colette, what did you see?"

Colette sniffled whilst she mopped up the tears cascading down her cheeks with her sleeves. They would pour from the bottoms of her blue eyes and trickle down her face in big rivulets so they could resemble mini waterfalls and then the ones that weren't absorbed by the sleeves of the cardigan she wore over her dress would just drip to the ground.

She tried to maintain a calm composure and slowly turned to look at her husband with eyes overflowing with guilt.

Lloyd didn't like the way his wife was looking at him. It was just like several years ago when Saphira was four and Colette had been ambushed by lingering members of the Desians for information.

It filled him with a very similar sense of dread, it made his heart sink low into his stomach and he could feel all the colour drain from his face as he slowly started to realise what exactly the vision involved.

Colette sniffled again "S-Saphira is in danger..."

* * *

She ran as fast as she could.

Her spiky brown long hair blew back in the wind, her jaw was set and her heart was pounding hard in her chest. Big streams of tears flowed down her face and her big blue eyes were narrowed in betrayal of the one she loved openly humiliating her and breaking her heart. She had thought Stryker loved her, she thought that her father was merely being overprotective when he had said he didn't like him!

But she could see now that she was so very wrong...and that really hit her hard.

Saphira held the hem of her dress up to avoid herself tripping over herself and she used every last drop of adrenaline to carry her somewhere, anywhere, so she could be left alone in solitude. She grimaced when she felt the muscles on the back of her hand contract, signalling that the mark on her hand was reacting to her emotions. She caught a bright magenta glow out of the corner of her eye when she went to look at her cursed hand.

She hated this. She hated feeling pain every time she cried. She hated being looked at as a freak due to this problem. She wanted to be normal!

Saffy had no clue as to know how much she ran aimlessly through the moonless night, using her glowing mark as a lantern of some sorts. It felt like an eternity of running, her heart was basically slamming into her ribs it was beating so hard. The tears she had cried had dried up and left a sickening dry crusty sensation on her cheeks.

She still did not recognise much through the darkness of the night but she eventually felt her legs give way as she finally dropped to the ground and she just couldn't find the energy to get back up.

Her legs ached and her hand continued to cramp as the mark on the back of it glowed intensely bright.

The light was bright enough so she could make out that she had found herself laying down in front of a small pen of some sorts, she instantly recognised where she was upon seeing the crude design and looked up to see the creature being stored safely within the pen. Her heartbroken eyes lit up just a hint when she saw her father's pet.

"N-Noishe...?" She sniffled.

The unique, green and white animal which greatly resembles and behaved like a very large dog acknowledged the young lady's presence by letting his vocals vibrate with an affectionate purr. But he seemed to pick up on her distress quickly as his whole demeanour shifted and he lain down on his tummy in order to make direct eye contact with her.

Noishe was a very clever creature and had learned to pick up the emotions of his owners long ago, he had the loyal canine attributes as to be by his loved ones' sides should they need something to try cheering them up. The dog-like Protozoan let out a gentle whimper of concern as he subtly poked his upturned snout out of his confinement and pushed it against Saphira's normal hand, clearly trying to get her attention.

Saffy smiled gently and rubbed her hand against the Protozoan's big black nose. It felt wet against the skin of her palm but she kind of liked the sensation.

She felt perfectly content to be by the loyal giant canine's side and actually felt a bit better after what had happened.

But then she looked up and she was shocked at what she saw.

A group of men wearing armour surrounded her with an evil aura huddling close to them. She didn't like this, it sent chills down her spine and she wanted to avoid another confrontation. But they were not leaving; they made this clear when they started to corner her. Saphira's heart dropped into her stomach as she looked up at the men who surrounded her, evil and sadistic smirks spread across their faces as they started to form a ring around her.

"Who are you?" She asked, her voice trembling.

Her throat seized up and she could swear that her heart was pounding away in there once again!

"You are coming with us." The man said, his voice holding no emotion whatsoever. He didn't answer her question.

Saphira swallowed and backed up towards the gravestone as her eyes were wide with fear and her lower lip quivered. Just who were these people, what did they want with her? Why did they want to take her?

She didn't know the answer to any of those questions but she didn't want to find out either, as she tried to reach for a little pocket knife she had managed to hide in her dress.

Whenever she got the chance, she would bring weapons wherever she went.

But she didn't have a chance to grab it since one of the men seized her wrist, snatching it up into their own hand, and the young lady cried out fearfully as tears started to flow down her cheeks "N-No, stay back...I'm warning you!"

No matter how intimidating she tried to sound, the men didn't listen to her as it became noticeable that her hand birthmark had started to glow a bright magenta when she started to become frightened.

One of the men seized this opportunity and held his fist overhead to try and subdue her with one single blow. But as he was about to bring it down upon her...

Saphira had finally withdrew one of her emergency blades that she had concealed in her pocket and pointed it directly at the Desian soilder's face. Although she was frightened and the hand that held the dagger was trembling from the tension, she was using every ounce of her being to sneer at the enemy.

Although she was scared that didn't mean she was going to allow herself to be captured.

The Desians each withdrew swords of their own and pointed them each at her.

"I would advise you don't make this difficult and come with us." One of the men spoke in a low voice.

Saphira shook her head stubbornly. She wasn't going to let herself become a cliché damsel no matter how awful she had felt about what had just happened. She rose to her feet and clutched her dagger tight in her hand, her fingers and thumb fastening around the handle.

"I have been told by my parents never to go with shady guys and they don't get any shadier than you guys do." She quipped, narrowing her eyes teasingly as she decided to put her sword skills to the test.

Saffy quickly thrust the dagger forwards so it collided with one of the swords which the soilder's were wielding. The sound of the metal colliding with another piece of metal was kind of painful to listen to but it didn't really show on anyone's faces.

_SHIINNNNN!_

Noishe watched as he writhed around and fought to escape the pen he had been confined to. He was acting like a wild horse that was becoming fussy, he kicked and bucked and yipped whilst he showed signs of an animal in distress. It was clear that he was wanting to help his master's daughter but alas he could not due to the current circumstances.

Saphira paid little heed to Noishe's worried behaviour as she was way too busy trying to defend herself.

She was easily outnumbered but she started off strong. She weaved her body gracefully to avoid getting slashed by the numerous blades that were threatening to slice her into thin ribbons, she was like lightning on her feet and her blue eyes were always kept focused. Although she could feel her heart aching as it pumped adrenaline through her body.

One-by-one, each Desian was cut down and defeated as the daughter of Lloyd and Colette had started to even the odds.

Minutes felt like hours and Saphira was getting tired since the huge rush of power that she experienced at her party from earlier had siphoned some of her energy. Sweat started to dribble down her face and her eyes started to droop. She was exhausted but she refused to let that get the better of her.

She went for another stab with her dagger but her arm had completely seized up halfway and she found herself unable to move it. She was shocked, it was like time had stopped for her arm! She tried and tried to make it move but it was a futile effort and her mind was racing with panic.

What was going on?! Why couldn't she move her arm!?

She felt a familiar pain on her hand and her mind cried out '_N-No! Not now!_'

Her mark was glowing intensely in the evening and her hand was on fire! The tendons and nerves were feeling like they were bunching up together to make her hand completely immobile and her fingers were feeling numb. This was like no pain she had felt before as her hand had bent down to expose the glowing mark to the enemies.

The Desians smirked cruelly as some of them moved aside to reveal someone was reading some sort of book. It was too dark to see their face clearly but the light of her mark made it apparent that this person/creature was much taller than her and they probably wore some kind of robe that had been covered in spiderwebs.

This mysterious person's hand was glowing simultaneously with Saphira's hand and her eyes widened with shock and disbelief.

"W-What!? How are you-!?" She started to say. How could they be manipulating the power of her marked hand!? What was going on now? She glanced over to see Noishe and she found that he had ceased struggling in his pen like he had been but he was now apparently intimidated and was laying down on his tummy with his big ears down with fright.

Saphira swallowed.

Noishe never reacted like this unless there were monsters around and there were no monsters she could sense or hear.

The remaining Desians quickly reacted, taking advantage of her stunned confusion, and held on to her her face to keep it still while holding a pot with a sickening green smoke rising out from the circular rim under her nose.

Saffy let out a yelp of surprise as she was thrown back against Noishe's pen and she tried to move away from the strange clay-made pot and not breathe it in but she had quickly lost that fight due to exhaustion and after some quick inhales, the young girl sarted to grow dizzy as she struggled harder and harder to break free.

It was obvious that they used some sort of sleeping gas and now she was under the effects. This stuff even had some kind of soporific effect on her as she started to grow limp and her mind started to blank out.

She managed one last feeble cry for help that pierced the harrowing night, though, before the cold arms of unconsciousness had coiled around her and she was out like a light.

"AAAAAAAaaaaaah!"

* * *

**A/N: Wow, it's been awhile since I updated this! **

**I have been working on this for months and so much stuff has been happening and I just haven't had time for updating. But I have been working on this for ages and I'm sorry it's been so long. **

**But we see that Saphira is in big trouble and Colette has visions! Also the Desians have succeeded in kidnapping Saffy, even though she did fight against them. Where is Kratos, I wonder...?**

**Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter and Merry early Christmas!**

**-Chloemcg**


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